Lovebug
by Wolfie Kid
Summary: The trio are on their last chance: if they fail this mission, then they will never be allowed to work together again. Thankfully, all goes perfectly to plan. Until Demyx met Tabby. Romance with violence and minor swearing.
1. Banana Pancakes

It was raining heavily: so heavily the sound of it hitting the roof of the car was absolutely relentless. Through the windscreen, all that could be seen through the occasional break in the windscreen wipers was a road illuminated only by the headlights. Visibility was so poor, Axel was forced to slow the car right down and after a while, he stopped completely, pulling into the roadside gently, making sure not to disturb his two sleeping passengers in the backseat.

The engine fell dead, and the only sound now was that of the rain. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and stretched sleepily: he'd been driving for seven hours straight, and his back was starting to ache terribly from sitting in the driving seat. Straining to keep his eyes open, he glanced up to the signal mirror.

In it's reflection, Roxas lay cuddled up against Demyx with his head in his lap, both blissfully sleeping quietly, chests moving slowly in steady slumber. Roxas had not been feeling very well since an hour into the drive, so had lain like that to help give his churning stomach a little more room to get comfortable. However, the arm cradling him must have been placed there in Demyx's sleep. Now the two of them were tightly snuggled into the corner of the backseat.

Smiling fondly as he made a mental note of 'damn those two are adorable like that', Axel closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off to sleep too. He'd originally planned on waking Demyx up and demanding it was his turn to drive, but couldn't find it in himself to disturb either of them.

Above them, the rain eased off a little, hushing itself into a more comforting pitter-patter that soothed his weary mind and finally pushed his over-worked senses into a mass shutdown.

____________________________________

When he awoke four hours later, he was surprised to find he'd been moved from the driver's seat into the front passenger seat, and Demyx had seemingly woken up and started the drive again.

"Mmmm? Oh, good morning sleepy," he noticed Axel stir, though kept his eyes on the road.

"Morning? Already?"

Axel rubbed his eyes blearily and tried to focus them out of his window. Sure enough, a faint glow was appearing on the horizon, very dim pink and orange. Satisfied that it was, indeed, morning, he groaned then looked over his shoulder. Roxas was still curled up on the backseat, a blanket draped over him.

Seeing his gaze falling in the boy's general direction out of the corner of his eye, Demyx bit his lip them murmured, "He's really not doing so great…"

"He does look really pale…"

"He was sick while you were asleep," Demyx remarked quietly, changing gear. "When I woke up and tried to move, I disturbed him and he started coughing really violently. I dragged him out the car and sat with him on the roadside while he hurled his dinner onto the floor… I managed to get him to drink some water, but he coughed it back up seconds later… he was delirious and had a real bad fever…"

"Poor kid," Axel looked genuinely sympathetic as Roxas pulled the blanket further over himself and mumbled something faintly in his sleep. "Hang on, pull over a sec… I'll get in the back with him."

Obediently, Demyx carefully pulled the car up onto the slope by the road and waited while Axel clambered out and opened the back door closest to Roxas, then sat himself down next to him.

"You belted?"

"Yep… carry on…"

"Right, just keep an eye on him, okay?" Demyx revved the engine again as they pulled back onto the road. The journey carried on in silence for another forty minutes, in which time the sun finally broke the horizon and bathed the road in pale morning light.

Axel was starting to feel himself drifting off again when he felt the car slow and Demyx mumbled darkly under his breath until the car had come to a complete stop.

"Wassa matter?" the redhead asked dopily.

"Someone's broken down up ahead, and this road is only one lane wide… hold on, I'll handle this…"

And without further explanation, he undid his seatbelt, opened his door then clambered out, walking off to inspect the problem closer. Leaning forward and peering around the front seat, Axel watched quietly as he saw Demyx stride over to the stationary car in front of them, making straight for the driver's window. He knocked on the window and it opened slowly. A young black-haired woman poked her head out, seeming to be very flustered and embarrassed. She and Demyx exchanged a brief conversation with some nervous laughter, then she got out of the car and they approached the boot of the car, both giving the back tyre a disapproving gaze on their way. Flat tyre it seemed. The spare must be in the trunk…

Apparently not.

They both exchanged another conversation, the woman looking like she was trying to think of some plausible explanation and Demyx looking increasingly exasperated. He said something finally and the woman looked very taken aback. He said something else and she broke into a smile grasping his hands and seeming to be thanking him repeatedly.

The next thing Axel knew, Demyx was walking back to their vehicle and had opened the backdoor.

"Um… do you mind if I give her our spare?" he asked nervously.

"You're joking right?" Axel stared at him as if in disbelief, yet kept his voice low so Roxas would not wake from his precarious sleep.

"Look, I know it's stupid, but until she gets another tyre, she won't be moving, and if she isn't moving, neither are we. She can't get a signal to call a recovery pick-up either. So, we either give her ours, or we have to abandon either the car or the mission."

"Oh that's fair and all, but what about us!? What happens if one of our tyres blow, we'll be screwed!"

"Look, I'm not going to force you, but we can do a lot more good if we just hand over the tyre and get her on her way. Even if we do have a breakdown, we'll still be able to get closer to a town or something. I won't argue if you really don't want to, you're the guy in charge of this mission… I'm just saying it can't do any harm to give her the tyre."

Axel continued to glare at him, then finally broke it when Roxas coughed weakly beside him and shivered so violently the blanket fell off him and he groaned.

If they had to leave the car, Roxas would get worse. Hell, the boy could barely stay awake longer than a few minutes at a time.

If they just left this world, that would be another failed mission on their records, and Zexion would not be bribed a fourth time, he'd said so himself. Xemnas had said if they failed this mission, the three of them would never be sent on missions together ever again.

He looked back at Demyx, still glaring, but he sighed and mumbled, "Fine. But I hope you know what you're doing, Dem."

"Thanks, Ax. I promise, I will take any and all responsibility to tyre-related incidents we may encounter, okay?"

"Nah, don't bother. Just get her going."

Nodding in thanks, Demyx jogged around the back, opened the boot, withdrew the tyre then rolled it over to the woman who was waiting by her car shivering in the cold morning air.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned to the car and slid back into the driver's seat, shaking from the chilly air outside. Ahead, the woman was starting her car and with a low hum, it rolled forward slowly until it was happily churning down the road and into the distance.

"We good to go?" Axel asked.

"Yeah-h…"

"Hmmm? What's wrong?" Axel peered further around the seat, then found his eyebrows raising in amused confusion. "Are you blushing?"

"N-no! Of course not. Why would I be?"

"You are… you're blushing…"

"Shut up! I'm not!" Demyx tried to look away but squeaked when Axel pinched one of his cheeks and cooed, "Awww, you so are, little bro! You're a terrible liar! Did she give you a kiss of thanks or something?"

"No…" came a timid reply. Axel grinned wider and smirked, "You have lipstick on your face, Dem. You're not fooling anyone."

"I do!?" he squeaked, frantically glancing up at the signal mirror and rubbing the spot vigorously. Axel was now laughing heartily and tugged the cheek he was holding in a similar fashion to what elderly women do to young children, before cackling, "You little prince charming you…"

Unable to conceal the fact any longer, Demyx managed a sheepish smile and mumbled, "She gave me her number too…"

Axel finally let go of his cheek and chuckled, "d'aaawwwww, finally got yourself a girlfriend? Bless. How romantic – you meet the girl of your dreams over a flat tyre."

Demyx was about to retort moodily when suddenly a long moan from Roxas made them both turn and look at him. The boy's eyes were now open and yet he still looked so incredibly drained.

"How you holding up?" Axel asked quietly, leaning over him. Roxas simply coughed then his eyes slid shut again, shaking violently. Gently, Axel lifted his head so it was on his lap and carefully rubbed a hand through his hair to comfort him. The boy was back to sleep in seconds.

"Let's go find the hideout before he freezes to death," Demyx mumbled with some air of concern, starting the car and not stopping until five hours later when they reached their destination.

The dull afternoon glow had considerable trouble breaking through the thick pine trees that surrounded the tiny lodge on the west face of the mountain road, but added with the car's headlights, the three of them safely parked the car and clambered out, Roxas having a lot of help from Axel.

"Wooooow… this is actually a nice joint," Demyx whistled as he stood, hands on hips, admiring the small but cosy wooden building that Xemnas had rented out for them to use as their temporary base.

"Less talking, more walking," Axel grunted as he carefully helped Roxas shuffle sickly towards the door.

"Oh sorry, here, let's help you…"

He scampered over and took Roxas' other arm. The boy was too ill to complain. Once they'd battled the door open, they spent a couple of fleeting seconds looking at the interior before they practically half-carried, half-walked him to the bedroom and gently lowered him onto the mattress of one of the larger and more comfortable looking beds. His head had barely hit the pillow and he was already completely out.

"Poor kid," Demyx sighed as they both stood at the bedside looking down at his fitful rest as his shivers began again. Wordlessly, Axel grabbed a couple of blankets from the foot of the bed and threw them over the boy to keep him warm.

His shivering seemed to cease, or at least fall much less wild.

"Let's just hope he's feeling better tomorrow…" Axel said finally, turning around and leaving the room, followed closely by Demyx who shut the door slightly do Roxas' sleep would no be disturbed.

______________________________________________________________

Axel awoke to the sound of vomiting at 3am. Groaning, he put a hand up to rub his head. Well, Roxas was up, judging by the noises coming from the bathroom down the hall… he tried to get up to check the kid was alright, only to realise something heavy was clinging to him. He turned his head to look what and almost ended up kissing a sleeping Demyx on the lips.

Screaming in surprise, he woke Demyx up, who also started screaming (though he wasn't sure why) and they both fell off the couch in a large tangled mess.

"Shoot man what are you playing at!?" Demyx wheezed, scrabbling to his feet and retreating a little, gasping for air and still shaking in shock.

"I'm so sorry! We must've fallen asleep on the couch and… well, nothing happened, so we're alright."

"Dude, I can understand that, but did you have to SCREAM?! I thought we were being ambushed or something!"

"Speak for yourself, Dem…" a feeble croak echoed from the corridor doorway. They both glanced over and saw Roxas leaning weakly on the doorframe, one hand on his stomach and the other hanging limply by his side.

"Can you two keep it down… my head really hurts," he mumbled again as they stopped their yelling and rushed over to him.

"Hey, I think you'd better go straight back to bed…"

"I will but.. um…" he suddenly looked very embarrassed and asked timidly, "Can I have a drink or something to get the taste of bile out of my mouth?"

"Of course you can, but get back into bed and I'll bring it to you, okay?" Demyx gave him a sad grin before turning him around and escorting him back to the bedroom. Axel slunk back to the couch where he and Demyx had fallen asleep watching rubbish late-night TV and turned the box off with the discarded remote.

Demyx reappeared briefly to fetch a glass from the kitchen nearby then disappeared again, trying to settle Roxas down.

Ten minutes later, he came back for good, throwing himself on the couch while Axel busied himself with the fridge.

"Anything good in there?"

"Half a pint of sour milk… and a tomato…" Axel replied with sarcastic delight. Snorting, Demyx spread out on the couch and kicked off his shoes.

"Um, you planning on sleeping there?" Axel asked quietly, noticing him getting comfortable. "You do realise there's enough beds for all of us in the actual bedroom."

"I'm not planning on sleeping yet. I just want to lie down a little…"

"And do what?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing… right, well… that's kinda boring isn't it?"

"Nope… I'll probably pop outside and play sitar for a while nearer sunrise, but until then, I'll just admire the interior design in the ceiling and listen to the wildlife outside."

"You really love the simple things in life don't you?"

"Yep."

"Well, if that's what you want to do."

"Yep."

"………..Bet you just want me to go so you can think about your girlfriend…"

"Tabby isn't my girlfriend… she's just a nice lady I happened to help."

"Oh so it's TABBY now is it?"

"She's always been Tabby. Nothing more…"

"Admit it… you seriously like her, don't you?"

"……. No."

"Uh huh… suuuure. And I'm a chocobo."

"… Shuddup."

"Hey man, it's cool you like her. I mean, it's about time someone came your way… you're in your prime, man – there's no shame in liking a girl."

"I… I don't know what you're talking about. Now go to bed."

"Aw, c'mon…….. you can tell me."

"Good night, Axel."

"You're not going to talk to me anymore are you?"

"Nope. G'night, Ax."

Rolling his eyes, Axel found himself smiling and ruffled Demyx's hair as he passed the couch on his way to the bedroom where Roxas was already in a feverish slumber.

____________________________________________________________

Dawn broke gently over the treetops, sending dazzling sunshine scattering down on the roof of the lodge. Birds twittered pleasantly as they flew about their morning routine, clicking their beaks and chirruping quite happily… until the bush they were perched on burst into flames.

"Will you sodding SHUT UP!?" Axel roared, leaning out the window, looking extremely angry and sleep-deprived. "Go squawk somewhere else! Shoo!"

The birds all took off in a flutter of feathers, screeching and cawing in panic as the bush steadily turned to ash. Satisfied they were gone, Axel slammed the window shut and rubbed his head, groaning. He hadn't gotten a very good night's sleep and waking up to loud chattering of the local wildlife was not improving his mood.

"And a good morning to you too," Roxas mumbled from under the blankets of his bed.

"Sorry 'bout that… I didn't get a good night…" Axel gave an apologetic smile and dragged his feet over to his own bed before flopping down on it. "You feeling any better?"

"Well, I don't think I'm gonna be throwing up anymore, but god does my head hurt…"

"Aw, it'll go sooner or later."

"I just hope it's sooner."

"Me too."

Adjusting himself under the covers, Roxas finally poked his tussled head out from under the dark warmth of the cover and focused his glossy eyes across the room. "Hey, where's Dem?"

The third bed in the room didn't look like it had been slept in at all. The spare blankets were still folded neatly at it's foot and there was no sign of anyone even sitting on the bed let alone lying on it.

"I have no idea… he said he was just gonna lie on the couch for a while, maybe he dozed off there. I'll go see…" Axel rolled off his bed and shuffled sleepily out of the room and into the corridor leading to the lounge.

The couch was empty, but on the table behind it was a sticky note.

"_Just popping out to get breakfast ingredients and medicine for Rox. I'll be back before 10. No blowing stuff up while I'm gone, Ax_."

Well, maybe it was too late for that last part, considering he'd just torched a bush not thirty seconds ago. But breakfast… now that sounded good.

"He's gone to fetch us some food," Axel called, wondering if Roxas could hear him from in here. Apparently he could as the boy called back, "Best news I've heard all day."

Chuckling, he put the note down and walked back to the bedroom, yawning and stretching his arms out behind him, sighing in content as they clicked back into place.

"Well, I'm gonna have a shower. Think you'll be okay for five minutes?"

"Honestly, it's just a cold, I'll be fine!"

"It's not 'just a cold', Rox: you were throwing up yesterday."

"Fine. But I'm much better now, and I think I'll survive five minutes without the two of you babying me, okay?"

"We're just worried about you," Axel came in to pick up some new clothes, then paused, staring at Roxas in concern. "You probably think we're just being kinda clingy, but you scared us a little. I mean, you got so ill so quickly. Last night me and Dem got talking, and… okay, so neither of us are doctors and can hardly tell a sore throat from an infection in the lung, but… we're just looking out for you, 'kay?"

Shifting sleepily, Roxas finally managed a smile and sighed, "Well, thanks… I guess."

Nodding, Axel continued on his way to the bathroom and shut the door behind him as he prepared for the morning shower.

Two minutes later, there was frenzied knocking at the door.

"Roxas do you mind? I'm still in the shower!"

"Ithinkimgonnabesick" a strange mumbling replied loudly, sounding like the owner was in a lot of pain.

Rolling his eyes, Axel pulled the shower curtain around then shouted, "Go ahead."

There was a loud bang as the door was thrown open then the lovely noise of dry heaving. Poking his head around the edge of the curtain, Axel wiped some of his hair out of his eyes as it had flattened down with water, looking sympathetically at the boy kneeling by the toilet.

"I thought you said you'd be okay without my looking over you!"

Roxas could barely mange to speak due to his stomach's insistences that there was something bad that needed ejecting forcibly from his mouth, but he managed to give Axel the finger.

"Oh charming…" Axel rolled his eyes before ducking back around the curtain and turning the shower off. "You done choking into the toilet?"

"I hope so…"

"Right. Get your sickly ass back in bed and I'll get changed. Then I'm not going to let you get out of my sight, are we clear?"

There was another retching noise as Roxas' stomach finally managed to find something to remove from his innards.

"I'll take that as a yes."

____________________________________________________________________

He was just pulling on a pair of jeans when there was the distinctive hum of a car driving up the road and the crunch of gravel as it pulled to a stop. Twenty seconds later, the door to the lodge was opened and a familiar voice called, "I'm back! You two okay?"

Securing a belt around the waist of his jeans, Axel poked his head out of the door and called, "I'm fine, but Rox just got worse."

"Oh damn, that's not good at all."

"You're telling me…"

Dragging the shopping bags into the lodge and hauling them onto the table, Demyx wiped his brow and put his hands on his hips, "Phew, yeah. I got plenty of provisions… oh, and while I'm here…" He paused and rummaged in one of the smaller bags, before withdrawing a tiny pure white plastic container and tossing it to Axel. "Give them to Roxas. It's some aspirin. Probably won't help his stomach but at least his head will stop hurting… that's if they stay down."

"Nice one…"

While Axel ducked back into the bathroom and pulled a shirt on before making his way into the bedroom, Demyx pulled out the ingredients he'd gathered, emptied the fridge of it's original out-dated products then put all but a few away.

By the time Axel returned Demyx was cracking some eggs into a measuring jug. Upon noticing Axel's hair, he giggled.

"What?" the tall man snapped irritably.

"Wow, that kind of suits you…" Demyx pointed to his head: it was still soaking wet from the shower, so had fallen at a surprisingly long length down his back with one or two rebellious spikes still sticking up. Grumbling darkly, Axel looked away then picked up a newspaper Demyx had bought and hid himself behind it casually.

"I didn't know you cooked," he changed the topic quickly.

"Eh, I don't often, but my Dad was often too busy to cook for us, so I experimented with some old recipes… now, banana pancakes anyone?"

"Oh that sounds so good right now," Axel grinned, sitting down on the couch.

"Well, can you get the fireplace going? I can't cook properly if I freeze to death. And tell Roxas that breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes, and he's having some if he likes it or not."

"Um, do you think it's wise to give the kid something big while he's still poorly?"

"Hey, bananas are one of the few fruit you can eat when you're sick without coughing it back up, and even if he's sick afterwards, a big breakfast will give him at least some nutrition… he hasn't eaten since yesterday afternoon and I'm worried sick about what that's doing for his health. Oh, and I'd better make sure he drinks lots of fluids too: that will help him recover I'm sure of it, and heaven knows he's probably drying up from sickness, poor kid…"

Axel chuckled quietly, "What are you? His mother?"

Demyx looked like he was about to retort angrily, but a small smirk fell on his face and instead he said loudly in a convincingly feminine high-pitched voice, "Just go tell Junior it'll be ready soon, Honey."

Axel wasn't sure whether to laugh or pretend to throw up in disgust. He settled for a much more preferable, "I guess I walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Yep. Now go on…"

Rolling his eyes, Axel pointed to the empty hearth across the room. It was instantly crackling in warmth, sending smoke up the chimney. Mixing the batter thickly, Demyx sighed in content and mumbled a grateful thanks, then seemed to remember something and let a smug smile hit his face.

"Oh, you remember Tabby?"

"Your little crush?" Axel sighed moodily as he got up onto his feet to go tell Roxas he would be force-fed pancakes very shortly. Demyx twitched but didn't turn to glare at him or even deny it: Axel would have loved to have pointed that out but found it too cute that even Demyx realised there was something there and even he thought maybe constant teasing might be a little cruel considering the guy had just gone and brought food and medication for them.

"She happened to be the local doctor in the town at the chemist where I bought the aspirin," Demyx announced with a hint of cocky triumph. Axel froze. Taking his stunned silence as a prompt to continue, Demyx finished, "She even let me have it for free. Said if we hadn't given her the spare, she'd never have been able to deliver the medicine to her shop, and therefore, I wouldn't have been able to get poor Rox some relief."

Neither of them spoke for a while, then clearing his throat, Axel mumbled, "Good call, Dem."

"Heh, thanks. Now, go keep an eye on Rox. I'll call you if you want to flip the first pancake."

___________________________________________________________________________

Breakfast had gone down a big success and it seemed the combination of some aspirin and a well-made breakfast had finally made Roxas' health become a lot more stable. The three of them were now bundled on the couch, very full and contently warm thanks to the fireplace crackling with life to their left. The TV was still on, but none of them were actually watching it, and after a while of just enjoying being in each other's company, Roxas mumbled, "So, when do we start the mission?"

"Dunno. Xemnas said he'd send Xig or someone with further instructions, didn't he Dem?"

He looked to his left, only to find Demyx was fast asleep.

"Oh gee, I guess he didn't get any sleep last night at all…"

"Well, he was up all night playing sitar then driving to the local town to get us some decent food… poor guy. We kinda owe him, I guess."

"Does that mean we're doing the washing up?" Roxas glanced over his shoulder to the empty plates and measuring jugs that had been used to make and consume breakfast.

"Yes it does. C'mon.… let him rest. He deserves it."

_______________________________________________________________________________

Xigbar eventually turned up at about 1 in the afternoon, around two hours after breakfast. Demyx was still curled up asleep on the sofa, but Roxas was outside examining Axel's work on the still-smouldering remains of the bush.

"See you made it alright then?" the Freeshooter commented, making Roxas jump and whirl around to face him.

"Holy cow, Xig! Stop doing that!"

"Sorry. You know where Axel is? As he's technically the highest ranking of you guys, I meant to pass the instructions on to him only."

"Haven't the foggiest. He's probably in the house… but be quiet when you get in: Dem didn't get any sleep last night and he's only just catching up."

Xigbar nodded, then proceeded to sneak through the front door quietly past Demyx's quietly snoring figure and into the main hallway. He eventually found Axel laying on his bed, arms behind his head and his iPod plugged in, foot moving rhythmically and his eyes closed. His hair had now dried and was tied up in a ponytail, though it spiked up at the back, determined not to stay down. He gave a tiny yell of fright as Xigbar pulled out the earpieces, but once he realised who had disturbed him, he turned off the iPod and scrambled onto his feet.

"Well? Got our orders, Xig?"

"I sure do."

"Well, spill."

Meanwhile Roxas had let his curiosity get the better of him and went back into the house in the hopes of overhearing the mission details. About halfway through his sneaking though, a loud boom of thunder made him jump, and without further ado, the heavens opened. It appeared this area was prone to flash storms. Recovering from the unexpected bang, the boy shook himself and glanced over to the sofa where Demyx moaned a little then opened his eyes.

"What was that?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Thunder… sleep well?"

Demyx didn't answer straight away but ran a hand through his tussled hair and rubbed his eye. It was only when he yawned for a full five seconds that he looked at Roxas and mumbled, "Wha?"

"Never mind…"

"Ah, they're both here, great," a voice down the hall became louder as Axel and Xigbar approached them. "Better get your wet gear on, boys. You'll be headin' out soon."

Axel looked very uncomfortable with the idea of going out in the rain, but Demyx gave a sleepy grin and managed a lazy, "Yaaay."

_________________________________________________________________

It had been decided that before they began the tedious drive up the target mountain and started to find the heartless nest they were under orders to destroy, it would be wise to visit the local town and get emergency supplies in case they got lost. Which seemed very likely as they had no map either.

It was a very small town and Axel and Roxas (who hadn't even seen it yet) were very surprised to find it was practically just one road with no more than twelve buildings scattered either side. Despite it's size though, there were plenty of people walking up and down the road: window-shopping, sitting outside the solitary café, queuing outside the tiny shops or chatting in doorways. Despite the number of busy people though, they still turned almost every head as they strolled down the road after parking the Rover a few yards away.

"Don't be fooled, they're friendly really," Demyx smiled, noticing the other two looking very uncomfortable with the stares they were getting. Just to prove his point, he waved to a pair of elderly women stood under the shade of the sloping roof of a nearby building. They're faces broke into toothless grins in return. "It's just they're not used to visitors."

Unconvinced, Axel cleared his throat then said quietly, "You two stay out here. I'm just gonna see what they have in here…" before vanishing through the door of a small shop at the very end of the street.

Left alone, the younger two put their hands in their pockets and leant against the wooden wall of the only two-story building. Two minutes of boredom later, then Demyx sighed and pulled away restlessly, preferring to pace.

He'd just reached his fourth repetition when a pair of olive hands came over his eyes and a little giggle of 'guess who!' came from behind him.

Despite Roxas' assumptions, Demyx did not freak out in surprise, but rather smiled and obliged the human blindfold and mused, "Let me see… soft hands, a cute little giggle, lavender perfume… that could only be Dr Faydal…"

Another giggle then the hands came away as he looked over his shoulder. The girl he'd helped yesterday was grinning at him slyly, her dark hair hanging in spiralling ringlets just below her ears, her delicate glasses sat on her nose, glistening in the sunlight pouring between the clouds. "You just can't keep away from me can you?"

"Heh, guess I can't… I'm not staying long, I'm just waiting for my bro to finish shopping before we go."

"Oh? And who's this adorable little fuzz ball?" she put her hands on her hips and regarded Roxas with her head to one side. The boy blushed a little but didn't answer.

"This is Roxas… he's the guy I was buying the aspirin for this morning."

"Ah I see!" the black-haired woman nodded before saying to Roxas, "How are you feeling? Better?"

"Uh… yeah… thank you."

"Oh don't thank me, thank your brother here for being so considerate! A very thoughtful and caring young man, if I may be so bold to say…" she smiled widely, poking Demyx playfully in the shoulder and making him chuckle a quiet, "Taaaabby… stop it!"

"Aw… you're blushing, Demu."

"Demu?" Roxas fought not to laugh.

"I told you not to call me that," Demyx blushed harder and looked away rubbing the back of his neck. Then, so Roxas wouldn't hear, he mumbled, "Not when others are around anyway."

"Sorry, it just sounds so cute. I couldn't resist."

"Well… please do… Tabbsey."

"Oh you did _not_ just call me that!" she put on a face of perfect mock shock, unable to hide her smile in the process.

"I think I diiiid…"

"Oh, you're goin' dooown boy!"

"Bring it sister!" he stuck out his tongue. She simply reached into her bag, and bought out a syringe. The effect was instant.

"Okay! Okay! You win! You win!" Demyx squirmed and squealed at just the sight of it. She rolled her eyes put it away then said, "It didn't even have anything in it!"

Still, he sniffed and whined in fear. She sighed then held up her hands. "Look, it's gone. It's in the bag. I am not going to inject you with anything unless it's necessary for your survival, okay?"

"Promise?"

"I promise, Demu."

"….. uh, I give up."

She burst out laughing then patted his head in a gesture of comfort. "Tell you what, I've got to get to my clinic now, but maybe we can continue this conversation some time tonight? Tomorrow? When are you free?"

He turned vividly red, completely unprepared for this kind of offer, but thankfully his mouth was managing a good job without his addled brain interfering. "I'm not sure. I should definitely be free tomorrow though."

"Then how about we do lunch? That café just there… one o'clock?"

"Uh… uh… s-sure."

"Swell!" she gave a perky smile, then adjusted her shoulder bag and began to walk down the road, calling after her, "It's a date!"

Roxas watched her walking away until she reached the penultimate building on the left side of the street, pause in the doorway, throw them both a kind smile then disappear through the door. Once she'd vanished in the building, he pulled away from the wall and with purposely-slow strides, he sauntered to stand next to Demyx, who had frozen in place.

"Well," he said with an air of lofty interest, grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like _someone_ just got his first date… what do you think…… 'Demu'?" He barely held back a snigger.

Demyx just stood staring, bright red, yet looking strangely pale at the same time. His eyes were wide and his mouth was set into a thin line of shock. Then, very slowly, the corners raised into a tiny disbelieving smile.

"Roxas… did I just 'score'?" he asked strangely.

The boy next to him just rolled his eyes and decided not to answer.

_______________________________________________________

A/N - Those who have read 'What If' may recall a mention of 'Tabby'. This is the sad story of their relationship and it's terrible downwards crash.

Chapter title = 'Banana Pancakes' by Jack Johnson.


	2. Strong

The car trundled precariously up the steep dirt track as the rain continued to hammer down relentlessly. They had left the comfort of the lodge and man-made roads ten minutes ago and now the vehicle was groaning painfully trying to gain a grip on the muddy slush the rain was causing.

"Come on…" Axel hissed, willing the car to edge another five meters up the slope. The engine spluttered and a long creak as the body of the car hauled itself another few inches forward. Then with a depressing wheeze, the engine stopped entirely and the Rover gave up it's upward struggle.

Frustrated, Axel put his head on the wheel in utter defeat.

"One of you guys get out and push."

Realising he was trying to contain his temper, both Roxas and Demyx simultaneously opened their doors and stepped out into the sludge. Silently groaning as the wet earth soaked through their trainers and into their socks, they got to the back of the car and pushed.

Nothing happened at all, and if anything, the car seemed to sink in further. They tried again. Same result. Shouting over the sound of the rain to stop pushing, Demyx crouched down and got a closer look at the back tyres. They were half-hidden in thick, slimy mud.

"Nothing doing!" he called to Axel. "Completely stuck! She's not moving!"

There was a loud honk as Axel slammed his head down on the horn in utter exhaustion.

Above them a loud boom of thunder seemed to be laughing at him.

___________________________________________________________

Now taking the rest of the journey on foot, the three of them walked in silence: Axel because he was angry at walking in the pouring rain and up to his ankles in mud; the other two because they knew saying just one word might tip Axel's brewing anger to boil over.

Thankfully, Axel was the one to break the uneasy silence.

"You sure you feel up to this Rox?"

Pausing as he was unprepared for the question, Roxas grimaced and whined, "I'm fine! Stop making it seem like I'm about to keel over and die at any moment."

"The last time you said that, you interrupted my shower so you could hurl your guts into the toilet."

"If he says he fine, he's fine, Ax."

"Well, fine… hey, wait a… Dem how the hell is your hair not utterly ruined by now?"

"Duh… I control water. You really think I'd let some silly rain get near my hair?"

The other two glared at him in envy as he strolled by proudly, unfazed by the torrential weather. "So you didn't think to spare a thought for our own hair?"

"Nope."

The fourth bang of thunder in the last five minutes boomed out at them, making the whole ground tremble. Startled by the sound, Roxas almost lost his footing in the slippery mud and clung to Axel's arm to stop himself falling.

"You know, I'm starting to hate this mission…" he grumbled breathlessly as Axel helped him stand up sturdily again.

"Hey, we haven't even started yet…" the red head sighed, hands on hips. "Xig said the heartless nest was up the peak of this mountain."

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"Two hours… by car."

"Oh… wonderful."

"Will you two hurry it up!?" Demyx shouted from somewhere above them. Blinking in confusion, Axel and Roxas glanced around – his voice had definitely come from directly up.

"Man you two look tiny from up here…"

Looking harder, Axel had a strong urge to slap himself in the forehead.

"Demyx, what the hell are you doing in that tree?"

"Just getting a clearer look around, of course! I can just about make out the peak… but if we continue this way we'll hit a cliff face and then we'll have to go around the whole east side of the mountain to get past it, so I suggest we go north from here for about a mile, then east, then north again until we hit that funny shaped rock…. Oh… no, wait that's another cliff, never mind. Well, maybe if we-"

"GET THE HELL DOWN FROM THERE BEFORE YOU ARE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING!" Axel roared, interrupting loudly.

"Hmmm? What did you say Ax?"

Axel's louder order was drowned out by another low rumble as a fifth explosion of thunder threatened to burst out, and now in panic, Axel waved his arms frantically, screaming, "Get down! Get down!"

Seeming to get the message, Demyx hopped off the branch he was perched on and slid down the trunk of the tree. As soon as his feet were back on wet land, Axel dragged him away from the vegetation, much to his confusion.

"What's your problem? Is something wrong?"

"I swear Dem, if you were anymore of an idiot I'd put you out of your misery…" Axel growled as the three of them moved to a clearer part of the woods where there weren't so many trees. "Don't you KNOW lightning always strikes the tallest objects?! Did it not OCCUR to you that BEING A WATER ELEMENTALIST, YOU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST CONDUCTIVE THING AROUND HERE FOR A WHOLE TEN MILE RADIUS!?"

Demyx's face turned pale and he gave a tiny, "Oh."

And as if to prove Axel's point, the tree directly in front of them suddenly burst into flames as a fork of lightning came out of nowhere and struck it with little remorse. Whilst the younger two squealed in fright, Axel frowned and waved an arm: the flames instantly dwindled and were extinguished before they could get out of control.

"Just think more carefully next time, Dem… we wouldn't want Tabby missing her boyfriend now would we?"

"Not funny, Ax-hole!"

"Admit it Dem… " even Roxas spoke up slyly. "You really like her, don't you? In fact, let's stop being so delicate about this – she's so your girlfriend."

"She is NOT my girlfriend! She's just a nice girl who happened to give me her number!"

"And a sample of her lipstick on your cheek."

"Seriously?" Roxas couldn't contain a grin.

Axel nodded and smirked, "Oh yeah. Right on the cheek… the guy was blushing so hard… it was while you were sleeping in the back of the car. Her car was broke so Dem gave her our spare. He got her number and her undying love in return."

"I hate you so much Axel."

"I notice you didn't deny it…"

"Just… just shut up! Okay, so what if I _do_ like her!? So what?! Now… shut up…" Demyx stamped his foot angrily, then turned his back on them both, folding his arms and turning up his nose. "Stop teasing me…"

Breaking off his laughter and finally realising he might be going a little too far, Axel rolled his eyes and mumbled, "I'm only playin', Dem."

"Yeah well… don't."

"Alright, I get it. No more teasing. I give you my word, okay?"

"And if he DOES start teasing you again, I'll just mention his little crush on Larxene," Roxas smirked slyly. Demyx struggled to maintain his unimpressed pout and began shaking with laughter whilst stifling the sound of his mirth. Behind him, Axel rounded on Roxas.

"Not funny."

"Obviously is, else Dem and me wouldn't be grinning like idiots right now."

Demyx gave an involuntary giggle, despite still trying to appear moody. Glaring, Axel folded his arms and pouted, "You two are such backstabbers."

Both blonds gave little bursts of laughter, however, it was cut short when Roxas suddenly groaned, clutching his head and staggering. He fumbled with one hand through empty air and managed a gasp of, "Guys… h… help…"

Demyx turned around when he heard the faint moan and Axel also turned sharply to see what was wrong, face full of concern.

"Roxas… hey, you alright?"

He had just taken in the fact the boy was swaying dizzily when his eyes rolled shut and his knees gave way. Axel dashed forward and caught him, eyes set into desperate worry.

"Rox. Rox? Roxas, can you hear me?"

"What's wrong with him?" Demyx strode over, his irritation at Axel now lost in concern for Roxas as he sank to his knees beside the boy in Axel's arms, and lightly shook his shoulder, getting no response.

"I'm not sure… he's still pretty delicate after being so ill I guess…" the red head said blankly, voice a little shaky as he gently scooped the giddy youth into his arms. "We need to get him out of the rain…"

"I think I spotted a cave or something just a little ways to our right."

"Let's just hope it's not housing any bears," Axel nodded as they both scampered through the wood to the direction Demyx had specified.

_______________________________________________________

The little cave thankfully was not the current residence of any large wild animals, and offered a cosy and secure shelter from the raging storm outside. Darkness was starting to fall, but Roxas had shown no signs of waking up any time soon, despite the other two's best efforts.

"He's not getting any better," Axel commented with a defeated sigh after checking the boy's feverish temperature. Next to him, Demyx bit his lip, then held his palm by the youth's lips, filling it with water and trying to get him to drink it. He didn't even flinch. "It's no use, Dem. He's completely out of it."

"We still have to try. We have to get his fever down… poor little guy…"

He paused as he laid his head with his ear on the boy's chest trying to hear his breathing, then tried to get him to drink again. "He's so dehydrated… we _have_ to get him to drink something…"

However, once again, the water simply trickled down Roxas' chin as his lips were tightly sealed.

There was a long uncomfortable pause in which they both looked over their youngest mournfully, when suddenly the boy stirred and limply lifted his left hand, clawing at thin air and groaning, "No… don't…" in a voice barely above a whisper – his throat was terribly dry.

Taking his frantic hand, Demyx whispered, "Don't worry, Roxas. We're right here…"

Roxas seemed to calm at this and managed a tiny croak of, "kay," before falling still again. Still not letting go of his hand, Demyx tried get him to drink a third time. This time, the liquid managed to get into his mouth, and to his delight, they heard the distinctive sound of a forced swallow. However, the joy was short-lived as Roxas suddenly began coughing painfully and spotting the early warning sign, Axel hefted the boy up so he was on his hands and knees before the water came back up with a lovely addition of bile. Utterly drained, Roxas slumped back to the floor beside the vomit, twitching fitfully. Demyx looked close to tears but used the rainwater outside to wash away the puddle of coughed up stomach acid then looked to Axel as if asking 'what now?'

Trying to ignore the look as he was unable to admit he didn't actually know, Axel sighed and turned all his attention into making a campfire to counter the darkness falling outside.

Sensing Axel didn't want to talk right now, Demyx looked back to Roxas. His breathing was slow and deep and his eyes were watering badly against his stark white skin. He coughed weakly and gave a pitiful moan as he curled so his knees were against his chest. Another coughing fit then a delirious, "they're coming after me… no… don't… they're coming…"

"Shhhhh, it's okay," Demyx hushed him softly. "No one's going to hurt you. I'll make sure of that. Just rest… I'll be right here."

"They're coming… make it stoooop…" Roxas actually began to cry in his feverish state. A wave of pity hit Demyx in the gut and without even really thinking about it, he carefully lifted the shaking boy so he was sat on his lap, hugging him tightly whilst rocking backwards and forwards whispering, "Shhhhh… it'll be all alright. I promise… shhhhhhh…"

"This can't go on, he has to see a doctor or something," Axel said finally, watching the scene with tormenting worry.

"I know…" Demyx sighed sadly, still cradling the boy, then returning to his soothing words of assurance when Roxas clutched his shirt in want of comfort and coughed again. Shaking his head, Axel motioned for them to come closer to the fire. Gently, they did so, Demyx being incredibly careful not to disturb Roxas any more than necessary. Once they were both seated again, Roxas let his grip on Demyx loosen a tiny bit and mumbled miserably, "They're coming for me."

"Who are coming for you, Roxas?" Axel asked quietly.

A little stumped by this question and coughing again as his sickly and confused mind fought to find an answer, Roxas frowned and buried his head into Demyx's shirt, shaking with sobs. "_Them_," he managed finally.

"'Them'?"

The boy suddenly gave a strangled gasp and sobbed harder, cawing, "No! Leave me alone!" and thrashing in panic. Demyx hugged him tighter to keep him still – ignoring the scratches Roxas sliced into his arms in his fit of terror and trying his hardest not to scream when the confused boy bit him very hard, actually drawing blood - and repeatedly stroked his hair breathing, "It's alright! You're safe! I've got you! Shhhhhhh… it's all okay… breathe, Rox, breathe… I'm here for you… they can't get you. They won't hurt you with me here… shhhhhhh…"

Eventually, the panicked struggle ceased and Roxas let go of Demyx's now tear-stained shirt, seemingly falling into uncomfortable sleep.

Looking up at Axel, trembling in utter worry, Demyx mumbled in broken croaks, "Can you take him off me? I… I need to go outside a while…"

Nodding in understanding, Axel shuffled so he was knelt directly beside them both, then ever so gently lifted Roxas' onto his own lap, letting Demyx shakily get to his feet sniffing and rubbing his hands over his face as if trying to cleanse himself of the negative thoughts.

Watching him walk out the cave and into the downpour in nothing but his already drenched t-shirt and jeans, Axel bit his lip, then looked down at Roxas. He was absolutely roasting in unnatural fever, yet was shivering as if exposed to the coldest possible temperature. His breathing was terrifyingly strained. His hallucinations seemed to be getting more vivid and disturbing to him – he could understand why Demyx was so taken aback by the severity of the illness. Hell, it scared him too. The thought of his baby brother suffering and not being able to help him tore him apart.

Another wild shudder made him snap out of his reverie, and totally at a loss of what to do, he took off his jacket and wrapped the sick boy in it, sighing, "Hold on Rox… we'll think of something."

____________________________________________

Once outside in the pouring rain and once absolutely certain he was far enough away from the cave to not be followed yet still find his way back, Demyx slumped down on a large rock on the forest floor and wept. He couldn't stand seeing Roxas like that. It made the hole in his chest tighten then become insufferably pain-ridden just at the thought of how much he was suffering. And to hold him in your arms, not even sure if he knew who you were anymore whilst being terrified out of his poor confused mind…

The rain hammered down, and this time, he didn't bother using his powers to keep himself dry. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity, hardly caring that his clothes were now so water-sodden, the slightest movement made them leak. The storm rumbled on louder and louder and the earth around him became more viscous and sodden, yet he hardly noticed. All he could think about was Roxas.

Finally, once he'd cried himself dry, he got back on his feet heavily, eyes sore and red. He'd better go back: Axel was worried enough with Roxas the way he was – if he didn't get back soon, the red head might go into all out protective-big-brother panic mode. Numbly running a hand through his now ruined hair, Demyx gave a large sigh and licked his lips, tasting the rain to distract himself. Usually he'd be enjoying the rain, especially such hard rain like this – it usually made him feel cleansed. But now, it seemed all it served to do was drench him and ruin his clothes. It was a good thing he'd invested in a waterproof cover for his phone or that would be wrecked too.

As his thoughts turned to his phone, he considered using it to call Vexen to come out and give his professional opinion on what to do with Roxas. Sure, it'd be easier to just portal Rox to him, but that would mean failing the mission. And Axel had made it clear that was not an option, as the consequences would affect them all badly. If Vexen popped over quietly and did his thing, then the mission could continue and Roxas would be okay… right?

Pleased with himself for thinking this up, he wasted no time in finding shelter under a slight overhang of a tiny cliff above him, before whipping out his phone and punching in Vexen's number.

No answer at all – just a five minute long dial tone. Of course, he should have known – Vexen didn't ever use his phone. Thought it was a waste of technology and just a mindless distraction to his precious experiments. It was probably on Silent, stuffed forgotten in the back of the cupboard inside a box of junk.

Hanging up in defeat, Demyx punched the rock face in irritation, then realised that probably wasn't very wise. After a cursing session, he stuffed his hands in his pockets to stop himself doing that again. He paused. In his pocket he could feel the little peach-coloured slip Tabby had given him yesterday by the roadside with her number on.

'_If I can ever return the favour, just call me, okay? Don't be a stranger!"_

Blinking in gradual thought, he whipped out the paper and hastily pressed the keys, before pushing the phone to his ear and giving a huge sigh of relief when a voice at the other end announced, "Hello, this is Dr Tabbitha Faydal, who is this?"

"Tabby! Thank god! Listen, it's Demyx…"

"Oh hi Demyx!" the voice brightened up instantly. "Um… I'm a little busy right now but did you want to talk about something? Is it about tomorrow? Can't you make it? We can always reschedu-"

"Maybe some other time, but right now, I really need your help."

"Oh? Calling in the favour already?"

"Yes… listen Tabby – my brothers and me were… hiking… and my little bro suddenly came down with something real bad."

Suddenly Tabby was all business. "You were HIKING?! In this storm!? Demyx are you crazy!? Is this the same little brother who you were getting the aspirin for?"

"Yeah."

"Right, well I'll resume saying how stupid you guys are once he's okay again. What are his symptoms?"

"He just up and passed out while we were looking for shelter. He had a real bad fever, was utterly delirious and is very pale with watery eyes. He's seriously dehydrated but when he drank some water, he threw it back up…"

"Uh huh, yep… where are you guys exactly?"

"Um…" Demyx looked around quickly to get his bearings then said breathlessly, "Mount Putnuh, North West of the gas station about five miles from your place."

"Any specific instructions? Mount Putnuh is pretty big."

"Yeah, follow the dirt track up, then you'll spot our car bogged down. I'll meet you there…"

"Great. I'll be there as soon as I possibly can. Make sure your brother is well rested and comfortable until I can get to you."

"Thanks, Tabby. You don't know how much this means to me," Demyx smiled in utter gratitude. There was a similar breath from the other end of the line, then a quiet, "Just be careful until I get there, Demyx… okay?"

"I will, don't worry."

"Good."

"Great."

There was a long pause.

"….. well… guess I'd better go."

"Yep………"

"…….Soooooo… um…… I'm gonna hang up now…"

"…….Right. Well… bye."

"Bye."

"….."

"……."

"…………… You didn't hang up."

"………………….. No……….. I didn't, did I?"

"Should I hang up?"

"If you want to."

"But do YOU want me to?"

"That doesn't matter. Just do what you want to."

"……… But I want to do what you want to do."

"…. Tell you what Tabby, we'll hang up together…"

"…………………..Okay."

"On three."

"Swell."

"You ready?"

"Yep."

"Okay… here goes……………… on three…….. okay?"

"On three, yep."

"Right……… one……… two…………………"

"…"

"Two and one quarter……………. Two and a half…………"

"…."

"……… Tabby are you still there?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

Another long, awkward pause as the people on either end blushed brightly, then simultaneously they blurted out a quick 'Love you', then hung up.

Bright red and flushed, Demyx leant back against the cliff face, looking upwards at the rainwater dripping from the overhanging ledge, unable to keep a massive grin off his face.

For some reason, he hardly cared about the state of his clothes or his hair. All he felt was a warm bubbly feeling from deep inside his chest that seemed to replace the chilling wetness that clung to his skin.

It was several minutes later when he finally opened his eyes again, then realised Axel must be going spare from his lengthy absence. Gulping, he scrambled out from under the ledge and clambered up the hillside back towards the cave mouth, where orange embers flickered out of it from the campfire.

"Shoot, don't scare me like that," Axel jumped when Demyx jogged through the opening. "Dammit, look at yourself! You're utterly drowned!"

"Heh, sorry about that, I was calling a doctor…"

Axel blinked, then smiled. "Seriously? Nice one! How long will it take them?"

"Well, I said I'd meet her by the car, so I'd better go… just didn't want you two worrying…"

"You're going back out? In this weather? You'll catch your death of cold! Hell, you already look like you've caught something nasty…"

"I'll be fine, okay? You just keep on looking after Roxas, and I'll bring her up before you know it. She said to keep him as comfortable as possible."

Axel paused, as if thinking deeply, then frowned, "Wait… 'she'… Dem, please tell me it's not who I think it is…"

"Why? Who do you think it is?"

"Demyx… please tell me it's not her…"

"Look, if you're thinking who I think you're thinking of, she's only coming to help Roxas. Nothing else-"

"For Christ's sake Dem… you invited your girlfriend out here for a frikkin date!?"

"No! She's not my girlfriend! Well……….. not officially at any rate," he trailed off sheepishly then remembered he was meant to be defending himself. "I swear, she's a doctor! She can help him!"

"Shoot man, do you even HAVE a brain?"

"No, it's not like that! I'm doing this for Roxas!"

"Don't use Roxas as an excuse! Admit it, you just called her up for your sake!"

"Don't be stupid! Look, I had her number, Vexen wasn't answering… she was my first thought when it came to a doctor!"

"How can you do this to us, man? 'Bros before hoes'! That's an unbreakable rule!"

"She owes me for the tyre! She's repaying me by looking over Roxas! That's all this means! It's just a favour being repaid!"

"Look just… just go, alright?"

Demyx froze, eyes wide.

"What did you say?"

"Get out of my face. Go find your little bitch, let her do whatever she's here to do, then send her away again."

Utterly speechless, Demyx gaped as he watched Axel shuffle to the back of the cave, crouch next to Roxas' fitfully sleeping figure and say deliberately loudly to him, "Don't worry Rox. I 'M still going to look out for you."

"Oh, real friggin cute, Ax…" Demyx glared bitterly, turning his back on them and striding angrily out of the cave again.

______________________________________________________

By the time Tabby's pick-up truck had clambered up the now slick-shiny mud flow that had been the dirt track, the nobodies' Range Rover had all four tyres fully submerged in it, the downpour had ceased and Demyx had only just stopped silently fuming at Axel's retort. Spotting her truck, he hopped off the bonnet of the Rover and waited while she parked and jumped out. Seeing him, she smiled gently and said, "Hi Demu. How's it going?"

"Friggin' WONDERFUL," he snarled, instantly wanting to slap himself for being so rude to her when it wasn't even her he was mad at. She seemed to pick up that he wasn't terribly happy, so nervously cleared her throat and mumbled, "Is he that bad?"

Obviously she assumed his anger was a deep frustration at being unable to help Roxas. Deciding maybe it was best if she carried on thinking like that, he sighed heavily and lowered his head, murmuring, "He's pretty bad, yeah… sorry, Tabby, it's not your fault…"

"Don't bother, I understand," she rolled her eyes, withdrawing a collection of bags and a first aid kit from under the front seat before locking her truck and making her way over to him. "Well, care to show me where you guys are hiding out?"

"Sure… oh, I've gotta warn you… um…. My big brother is rather touchy right now… he's…" he paused, trying to think up an excuse before finishing, "He's so worried about my little bro, he's being very unsociable to everyone. So don't be too offended if he says something nasty to you."

"Thanks for the warning," she nodded with a knowing smile as she followed his steps leading up the mountainside towards the cave. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she cleared her throat and mumbled, "Sooooo… hiking huh?"

"Yeah… I know, we really shouldn't have come here in such bad weather… my bros insisted though…"

"Yes well, I don't care who's to blame, you could have been seriously injured. It's a good thing I gave you my number or you guys might be in a lot of trouble. I don't want anything bad happening to nice people like yourself if it can be helped… If you'd been hurt…" she trailed off shaking her head in disappointment.

"I'm sorry."

"I should think so. What were you _thinking_!? I thought you had a bit more sense than this!"

He fell silent and bowed his head in disgrace. The journey carried on in tense silence for another minute or so, then he finally managed another softer, "I'm so sorry, Tabby… I'm such an idiot."

"Oh don't be so hard on yourself – your brothers are both in big trouble with me too, don't take all the blame…"

"It's true though… I'm such an idiotic jerk… I shouldn't be burdening my mistake on you…"

"Hey, stop with the self-pitying already. It's starting to tick me off!"

"Sorry…"

"There you go again…"

"…………… thanks for coming."

"That's better."

"I'm… I'm still sorry though."

"Sorry for what?" she stared at him. He just shrugged and rubbed the back of his head smiling nervously. "Just… dragging you out here, I guess…"

She sighed, rolling her eyes then replied, "Like I'd ever miss the chance to get to know you better."

Demyx blushed at this and kept his mouth shut, far too shy to carry on the conversation. Tabby seemed to understand this and didn't prod the matter any further.

By this time it was absolutely pitch black and it was only by the light of a torch Demyx had taken out of the back of the Rover that they could see. This made progress slow and disorientating, and twenty minutes later Tabby said those dreadful words of, "Demyx… where are we?"

"It's just a little further up… trust me," he whispered back. He was panicking too though: he'd been looking out for the sign of the campfire to guide him to the exact spot… Axel wouldn't have let it burn out would he? Maybe he had, just to spite Demyx and scare him. But surely Axel wouldn't do something so nasty, especially when Roxas' health was so poor.

They carried on walking for another couple of minutes, when all of a sudden, the torch dimmed, flickered violently, then went out altogether, plunging them into darkness. Tabby gave a squeak of fright and grasped Demyx in a moment of fear, making him blush.

"You alright?" he whispered after a while.

All he got in reply was a soft whimper and he felt her hands clasp his shirt tighter.

"Tabby? Are you alright?"

"D-d-don't like…. D-dark…"

A tinge of pity shot through him and instinctively he put an arm around where he supposed her shoulders were, pulling her closer. He could physically feel her trembling and hear her breathing getting more ragged.

"Don't worry Tabby: I'm right here… just keep hold of me and I'll make sure you won't get lost or get separated or anything like that."

"So d-dark…"

"I know, Tabby. I know… I can't do anything about it though… I wish I could, but… I'm sorry Tabby…"

He felt her push her head into his chest and whimper again. Gently, he eased them both down to the forest floor then sat so she was cradled in his arms tightly, making it easier for him to whisper comfort into her ear and stroke her back to calm her down.

Then he did something he swore to himself he'd only do in the direst of circumstances to only his closest friends. He sang.

It started off as humming as he rocked her back and forth, almost like a father trying to send his child back to sleep after a bad dream. Then it progressed into barely breathed syllables, steadily turning to gentle vocals that made Tabby's wide and fearful eyes droop a little and her grip on him loosen a little – not entirely letting go, but now she was calmly clinging to him rather than clutching at him for dear life.

"Th… that was beautiful…" she panted quietly as he cooed the last note into her ear and went back to rubbing her back. He didn't reply but just kept hold of her until he felt her slumping in his grip, almost asleep. Gently, he lowered her on her back to the ground, making sure she was entirely comfortable.

"Night…" he heard he whisper before seeming to fall into a long rest.

"Y-yeah… good night Tabby…" he replied distantly, copying her and curling up on the forest floor next to her. As the chill of night settled in, he could hear her shivering in her sleep. Sitting up, he gazed in her general direction, then picked up his jacket he'd been lying on. It wasn't too dirty – and only the cuffs of the sleeves had a tiny bit of mud stuck to the fabric. Satisfied it was of worthy quality, he gently put it over her. She mumbled something in her sleep and gratefully snuggled deep down into the fleecy material. Demyx gave a tiny smile, then laid back down on the bare mud next to her, hardly caring he was now shivering uncontrollably.

___________________________________________________________

Black. Dark. Stuffy air. If only he could re-ignite the flames. No, that would waste what precious little oxygen they had. But he couldn't SEE! He needed to see. He had to find Roxas. Had he even survived? Damn it to hell, he needed fire.

"Roxas! Roxas please say something!" Axel coughed, hacking as the dust cleared and gave him a clear view of… pitch black.

It seemed the storm had loosened the soil under some large rocks on the level above the cave, and shortly after Demyx had left, the earth had simply given way, sending the rocks hurtling down and blocking the only exit. Now Axel didn't know which way was up, or even where his baby brother had been thrown to by the impact.

"Roxas!" he shouted again, still coughing.

A tiny hoarse breath came to his left, and fumbling blindly in the darkness, his hand came to rest upon something soft and fluffy.

"Oh thank nothingness! Roxas are you alright?"

Bringing his second hand over so he was holding the boy's head, Axel forced himself to summon a miniscule orb of fire that provided just enough light to brighten a few inches in front of him. It lit up the bruises and sickly pale face of Roxas, who was breathing in a very disturbing way.

"Shoot… Roxas, it's Axel. Can you hear me?"

There was an increase in the feverish breaths then a barely audible, "It hurts…"

"I know… but I'm here, okay? I'm gonna stay right here with you until help comes, okay?"

One glassy blue eye peeled itself open, though it was an obvious effort, then Roxas whispered, "Stay?"

"That's right. I'm gonna stay right here."

"They're coming…"

"That may be so, but I'll scare them off. I won't some silly old… uh… 'them' hurt you."

"No…" Roxas murmured again, this time as if determined to be heard. "Not 'them'. THEY'RE coming."

Axel paused, then checked the boy's forehead: his fever was now at an absolutely new high. Obviously completely delirious by now. But deciding to humour him to stop himself panicking, Axel sighed then asked, "I don't understand Roxas. Who is coming?"

The boy actually managed a faint smile, took a deep breath as his breathing calmed ever so slightly, and before his eye shut again and he fell into a long sick sleep, he sighed, "Little brother is…"

And just like that, Roxas fell asleep, leaving Axel muddling over his words.

_Was_ Demyx coming? He hadn't come back yet, and it had been a long time already… and…….. well, after what Axel had said to him… he wouldn't be surprised if Demyx just left them here to rot. He shook himself. No, Demyx wouldn't do that. He was their friend, their brother. He wouldn't just leave them here… never. Even if he decided he'd rather spend his life with that girl he barely knew…

But… why hadn't he come back then?

Stop it Axel. Don't you have any faith at all?

But… what if Demyx didn't come back?

He'd never do that. You've known him three years – what part of you doubts his loyalty to you?

But I was so nasty. Heck, the guy looked heartbroken when he left… what if the last thing I ever said to him were those horrible words…?

Then you'd deserve to be left here to rot.

But what about Roxas? He doesn't deserve this. Hell, he's suffering enough already.

Then keep the faith that Demyx will return, if not for your sake, then for Roxas'.

Realising he'd just lost an argument against himself, Axel sighed and let the tiny orb of fire extinguish before lying down to get some restless sleep, hoping against hope that the oxygen would last them until morning.

_____________________________________________

A/N - Nothing quite like a lovely stroll through a muddy forest, eh?


	3. Secret Smile

Tabby awoke to the sensation of panic.

Opening her eyes, she instantly froze. Beside her, Demyx was also wide awake, staring directly upwards, lying on his back, breathing strangely, almost as if he was trying to breath very quietly whilst not moving his chest.

Directly above the pair of them, a large black bear was sniffing them curiously.

Well, that explained his fear.

However, Tabby was a woman who had spent a great deal of her life in the tiny town in the midst of the mountain wilderness, so knew exactly the best course of action.

Very slowly, she clenched a fist with the hand hidden from view by the bear, grasping some dirt and a large pebble. While the beast was busy snuffling the ground near Demyx's head, she silently and swiftly hurled the pebble into the undergrowth without moving anything but her wrist. It hit a bush about ten metres away and the bear suddenly snapped it's head in that direction, gave a low growl then lumbered over to it.

As soon as she was sure it was safe to do so, Tabby grasped Demyx's shaking hand and whispered, "Stay calm. They can sense fear. Lie completely still and silent until it has completely gone. And keep breathing quietly. Stay like that until I say it's safe."

He just nodded frantically, squeezing her hand back.

They lay perfectly still for what felt like hours, waiting until the sound of grunting and heavy breathing had vanished. After many minutes of snapping twigs and random growls, there was a long period of still, in which Tabby finally – oh so slowly and silently – lifted her head just enough to peer around the clearing.

The bear had gone.

She squeezed his hand again and once his terrified teal eyes had flicked to her direction, she whispered, "We're safe now."

He closed his eyes and let out a huge long breath: he'd obviously been holding it for a while. They both got to their feet shakily, dusting themselves down. It was then Tabby noticed.

"Why do I have your jacket?" she picked up the piece of clothing in question and tossed it back to him. "I thought you were using it."

"I… I was, but you were cold in the night, so… well… I couldn't let you freeze… so… well I… yeah."

She giggled at his sheepish blushing and simply replied, "Thanks. That was really sweet of you, you know. And… last night… I… thanks… I've never liked the dark very much… you probably saved me from an anxiety attack last night, just so you know……… so… well… yeah… thanks."

"Y-you're welcome," he smiled back, then timidly added, "You… you look very... uh… pretty when you blush…"

"I was about to say something along those lines to you..."

This only made him blush harder, and clearing his throat, he broke her gaze and announced, "Well, heh. Better resume looking for my brothers I guess!"

"Sure thing."

Together, they walked side-by-side through the forest, barely noticing they were holding hands tightly. Demyx found relief when he realised he recognised some of the environment, and concluding they must have been on the right track last night after all. He hoped Roxas hadn't gotten any worse during his absence: Axel would never forgive him if he had. Then again, even if he hadn't, Axel would still complain about Tabby even being there in the first place.

He paused suddenly. This was the area the cave was in… no doubt about it. Heck, he could still see the markings in the mud where he'd slipped on their way to the cave when Roxas fell ill yesterday. So… where was the cave entrance?

That pile of rocks certainly hadn't been there before…

"Problem?" Tabby asked quietly, seeing him twitch suddenly in panic.

"Yeah… they should be here… guys!? You here?"

For a while, all they heard was the morning chorus of wildlife and trees rustling, then there came a feeble cough and some muffled scrabbling.

"Demyx! Help us! We're stuck!" a voice came from behind the rocks.

"What?!" Demyx rushed towards the large rocks, putting his ear against them and shouting, "Axel? Is that you!?"

Jogging behind him, Tabby looked the rocks up and down in mild horror and breathed, "Dear God… cave in."

"Demyx… you gotta get us out! We're running out of oxygen and-" a violent cough interrupted his sentence. "Rox is really burning up."

"Shoot, hold on guys!" Demyx called, starting to attack the upper, smaller stones, hauling them away frantically.

"Hurry!" Another explosion of coughs.

Tabby was helping too now: clearing away the loose rubble Demyx had knocked down so he had a clearer working area. One particularly stubborn rock refused to budge, despite how hard Demyx pulled. He could feel through the rock that Axel was trying to push it from his side too, but it was still stuck fast.

"Tabby, can you… help with this… one…" he groaned, pulling with all his body weight as it strained in it's position. The girl obediently scrambled up the scree and wrapped her arms around his waist, tugging as hard as she could. There was a terrible noise of rock grinding on rock, then the mineral tumbled out of place and smashed below them. There was now a small hole in the barrier, and a long bruised arm extended out of it, flailing wildly. The coughing increased in severity, and now they could hear strangled breathing.

"Just hold on!" Demyx breathed, grasping the hand that had clawed out of the hole and peering into the opening, seeing Axel looking back, hyperventilating and coughing as he hauled in the air he'd been deprived off inside the cave. Now with one rock loose, Tabby and Demyx found the other rocks followed much easier and within five minutes of shouting reassurance and tugging away large boulders, they could now gain entrance to the cave. Wasting no time, they both rushed inside.

"Bout… friggin time…" Axel managed a tiny smirk, leaning heavily against the cave wall, before slumping weakly onto the floor. Giving a cry of panic, Demyx rushed to his side and shook his shoulders, trying to get a response. After a couple of prompts, Axel's eyes opened again and he gave a faint, "Thanks for coming back. Wasn't… sure if you… would."

"Of course I would! It's just we got lost in the dark. But we're here now. Everything's gonna be alright."

"Better be. You're in charge until… sleepy-time… over."

And without further due, he passed out.

"He'll be alright, Demyx," Tabby called from the back of the cave where she was leaning over Roxas' figure. "He's just exhausted. The best thing we can do is let him rest. Your little brother, on the other hand, I'm going to need some help with."

Nodding in understanding, he let Axel lay there and scrambled over to kneel next to Tabby and Roxas. She was rummaging in one of her bags, then finally withdrew a clear plastic bag containing a syringe. Shivering at the sight of the needle, Demyx mumbled, "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

"Unfortunately, I do. He's got a bad case of the Kinian Flu. It's a disease native to only this area. Isn't contagious, but it's easily caught by inhaling the pollen of the Kinid Flower and it seems to have the worst effects on children. Symptoms can include light-headedness, sickness, coughing and feverish deliria."

"It's not fatal is it?" Demyx whispered.

"Not unless it goes untreated for a week. Any longer and his motor systems will fail and he will probably end up seriously dehydrated and critically struggling to breathe. That's what the pollen does – it dries up everything in your body and rejects any fluids. That's why he's been sick and faint: the fever is making him sweat which is also losing him moisture and every time he coughs he's loosing saliva."

"He's only had it for a couple of days... he's not going to dry up anytime soon is he?"

"No, but unless treated soon, he won't have much longer. Can you hold him still while I inject the antidote? I don't want to hurt him, but in this state, he'll take any strangers as a threat, and he may make himself worse if I can't get a clean penetration."

"Sure thing…" Demyx positioned himself so he had Roxas firmly in his arms. The movement made the boy stir and sleepily, he opened his eyes and mumbled, "You came."

"Yeah! 'Course I did!"

"Good."

"I'm going to apply the antidote now. Brace yourself," Tabby whispered in Demyx's ear. The dirty-blond tightened his grip on Roxas and to distract the boy's attention, mumbled, "How are you feeling?"

"Cold."

"Cold? Don't be silly. You're boiling! You're even hotter than Axel in the middle of summer!" Demyx smiled fondly. Roxas smiled back but insisted, "Don't be silly. 's cold. Can't you feel it?"

Demyx was about to reply when Roxas suddenly flinched, eyes widening in terror, then gasped, "They got me! They got me!"

"Hold him still for just another few seconds, Demyx," Tabby gritted her teeth as she pushed the antidote into Roxas' vein. Doing so, Demyx could feel the boy crying in panic and weakly trying to shy away from the painful prick in his arm.

"Shhhh, it's all going to be fine soon Rox… it'll stop hurting any second now I promise!" he whispered soothingly as the teenager tried to struggle in vain. A few brief tense moments passed, then Tabby gave a triumphant, "All done."

As she put the needle back into the bag for disposing later, Roxas still cried and struggled, and would not settle down until Demyx had started singing a lullaby.

Once he'd finished and Roxas was now sniffing in his sleep, he laid the boy gently back on the floor, looked over him fondly, then started wiping the dirt off his face. It was raining again outside.

"You're a very sweet man, has anyone ever told you that?" Tabby mused from behind him, putting out the tiny pen-light she'd been shining into one of Axel's eyes and letting his eyelids drop again. Demyx whirled around and gave a nervous laugh.

"My sister used to tell me that all the time. I never believed her though."

"Maybe you should. You know, Demyx… when I offered to repay the favour you did for me, I was expecting you to ask for something selfish in return. But instead, you ask me to come and save your brother's life, potentially at any rate." She paused, gazing at him in careful consideration, as if he was something entirely different to how she'd originally perceived him. "You really are a sweet, sweet man."

He blushed and looked away, fidgeting with his hands. "Nah, I'm not that sweet… I can be kind of an idiot sometimes…"

"Everyone can be an idiot sometimes – it's part of being human. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

He gave her a tiny smile and shrugged. He couldn't think of anything to say… either that or his mouth had locked up through nerves.

Sensing he was starting to get uncomfortable, Tabby cleared her throat and got to her feet, walking out the cave, mumbling, "Well, I… I guess I'd better get back to my clinic…"

"You're going out in the rain?"

"Well, I guess I could stay a bit longer…" she paused, then shook herself and finished, "No… I'd better go back. I'll just get in your way."

"Tabby, wait!" Demyx followed her, jogging to keep up. She paused just outside the cave mouth as he caught up, rummaging in his pockets.

"Here, take it," he offered a handful of money to her.

"…No, I can't accept this," she shook her head, pushing his hand away. "It was my repayment to you, not your payment to me."

"Getting Roxas better was the return of favour – this is for your time and inconvenience," Demyx replied, offering it to her again. "I owe you his life. I know it's not much, but I can't think of any other way to repay you… what you did means so much to me, I wish I could do something more… all I have is cash, and I know that's hardly fit payment for what you just did, but… well…" he broke off shyly then mumbled, "Just take it, Tabby."

She looked at the offering, then into his eyes, which made him blush again. She seemed to consider the offer for about five more seconds when she finally said, "Keep your money. If you really want to repay me… then put your money where your mouth is."

And before Demyx could even ask her what she meant, frown in confusion or even draw breath, she had looped her arms around his shoulders and before he knew it, they were kissing in the rain.

For a few seconds, he couldn't think. When he finally could, he couldn't stop: she was kissing him. On the lips. That had only happened twice before. His sister often did it to tease him or when he was extremely upset about something. The other time had been during a game of truth or dare in which Larxene had kissed him. But, this time… why wasn't he struggling? This felt like nothing he'd ever felt before. Hell, he was starting to like this. It just felt so _right_. This one endless moment… such warmth bubbling up inside him… her skin against his, the rain dribbling down their faces, his spine tingling strangely as he felt her tongue against his own.

After a few seconds they pulled part, breathless and flushed bright red. They wordlessly gazed at each other, recovering from the initial surprise. She smiled at him. He smiled at her. Her deep hazel eyes creased in calm happiness. His closed in utter content.

Moments later, their lips were together again, the money abandoned in the mud whilst their hands stroked the other's face, feeling around their neck and brushing lightly in tender comfort, their owners hardly caring that they were now drenched to the bone.

The world could wait.

___________________________________________________________

When Axel finally woke up, the rain was now coming down in torrential floods. Groaning as he rolled over slowly and struggled onto his knees, he rubbed his eyes and kept one hand on his head at all times as if worried it'd fall off should he leave it alone. Once both eyes were fully focused, he was rather surprised to find that not only was Roxas awake, but he was laughing whilst chatting to a complete stranger.

"The hell?" he managed, making them both turn and look at him.

"Ah, you're awake!" Roxas smiled, though he sounded very hoarse and tired. "We were just talking about you – Tabby said you'd be waking up soon."

"Tabby?" Axel raised an eyebrow, then looked at the stranger. So this was Tabby. Sure he'd got a glimpse from the car of her basic features – the short raven hair, the delicate little glasses that before had been perched on her forehead and were now sitting on her little nose.. Her deep hazel eyes and olive skin were something he had only just encountered though. Not unattractive, but rather… 'ordinary'. She wasn't anything special – what did Demyx see in her? "Oh… you're the one Demyx helped."

"That's me!" she smiled in a friendly way, adjusting her position on the cave floor. "He asked me over to help your brother here. Incidentally…" she turned her attention to Roxas, frowning a little in concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Drowsy," he admitted with a yawn.

"Ah, no worries. The antidote is very fast acting, but can often leave you feeling very drained afterwards. Why don't you go lie down a while?"

"Sure," he grinned, getting up and moving further towards the back of the cave, where he found himself a cosy corner and curled up in it, asleep within seconds.

A little annoyed he was obeying this woman's orders, Axel bit his lip, then sat up a little so he was more comfortable, eyeing Tabby warily.

"Where's Demyx?" he asked stiffly.

"He'll be back soon. He said he was going out to fetch some emergency provisions from your car. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, that's him coming up the hill right now."

And sure enough a matter of seconds later, the dirty-blond himself entered the cave, dripping wet but smiling and carrying a collection of plastic bags. Upon spotting Axel glaring at him, his smile fell a couple of centimetres but he pretended nothing had happened and bought the bags down in the dryness of the cave, announcing, "There: bottled water, a packet of marshmallows, some tinned food and a can opener."

"Excellent," Tabby flashed him a wide grin, which made him smile too, their gazes meeting for a fleeting moment and exchanging psychic cooing. He'd barely straightened up however when he felt the back of his shirt being pulled and found himself being pulled out of the cave.

"Can I talk with you a sec, _little brother_?" Axel asked through gritted teeth as Tabby watched them leave with amused curiosity. Demyx gave her a quick apologetic grimace before he willingly strode after Axel, who only stopped when they were out of earshot of the cave.

"What's she still doing here?" Axel asked loftily.

"Ax, look, the weather was way too bad for her to drive back to town and she said it might be best if she stays around until Roxas is 100% again."

"I thought we had an agreement that once she'd done her thing, she would go."

"I never agreed to that. Anyway, she isn't finished here."

"Oh, she is."

"Seriously, Ax, what is your problem!?" Demyx threw his hands up in exasperation. "She's only trying to help!"

"My problem is that she's going to be an utter distraction to this mission! Hell, I'm highly tempted to send you back with her if I wasn't concerned for your safety!"

"What?"

"I saw the way you two looked at each other back there! Hell, Demyx, you've barely known her two days and you're already flirting!? What the hell man! How do you know you can even trust her!? What makes you think she won't just grab your wallet and run!?"

"Ax-"

"Hell, at first I thought it was kinda sweet that you had a thing for her, but I didn't think you were this serious! You've barely met the girl, and she already distracts you! How do you even know she feels the same way!?"

"Oh, I know she does," Demyx finally got a word in edgeways. Axel froze, considering him with blazing emeralds, then said quietly, "You kissed?"

The younger male hesitated only briefly then replied.

"Yes. Twice. Under the rain. And she made the first move."

"Shoot man. You're serious about this chick aren't you?"

"And what if I am?"

"Does she even know what you are?"

"Well, I told her I'm a street performer who can do magic tricks, so she doesn't suspect my powers or anyth-"

"Not the powers Demyx. What happens when she finds out about what you lack?"

Demyx paused, biting his lip, face falling as he absent-mindedly put a hand to his still chest.

"You know, once she finds out… do you really think she'll even look you in the eye ever again?" Axel sighed sadly.

"She… she loves me for who I am, not what I am…" Demyx tried to reason, though now he didn't sound so sure.

"So she loves you. Big deal. The big question here is… do you love her?"

"Of course I do!"

"No… no you don't. You think you do… but you don't. You _can't_, Demyx. It's not possible. You need a heart to be able to feel love, and no matter how many tricks your memories pull on you, they can never recreate love."

Despite how much that hurt, Demyx couldn't deny the truth in those words, and found himself clenching his chest, eyes completely downcast and silent tears flowing. Seeing he had got the message, Axel sighed, then put a heavy hand on his shaking shoulder.

"Tell you what: if it really means so much to you… she can stay."

Demyx looked up at him in surprise, still looking rather miserable, but a tiny glint of hope shone amongst the developing tears. "You… you really mean it?"

"Sure I do," Axel managed a forced smile. "After all, she did save Roxas… and me, I suppose, if you count the cave in. I think we can allow her some of our time."

"Oh… thank you! Thank you!" Demyx could hardly contain himself and started giving Axel a bear hug, much to Axel's alarm.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Put me down!"

"Thank you so much!"

"Okay! I get it! It was my pleasure, now PUT ME DOWN!"

Giggling, Demyx obeyed and let him go, trying to stifle his laughter as Axel started cracking his spine back into place.

"But," Demyx stopped laughing as Axel suddenly fell serious again. "Remember what I said, Dem. Don't think that lacking a heart means you're safe from heartbreak."

Demyx nodded seriously, yet managed another tiny smile of gratitude and replied, "I'll remember. But I'm still going to try. It's the least I can do."

Axel grinned back and closed his eyes, sighing, "I was hoping for an answer like that."

_________________________________________________________________

That night, they had moved out of the cave and set up a more professional camp site further up the mountain behind a set of boulders that shielded them from the wind. It had taken considerable time getting there though, as Roxas slept until the early afternoon, and even then was still very tired and drained with the after-effects of the antidote. But at Tabby's insistences, he kept moving to keep blood circulating and soon enough he felt better. Not that Tabby was _solely_ concerned about him.

"Oh, you silly man…" she tutted as Demyx sneezed for the umpteenth time. "You really shouldn't have spent so long out in the rain… now you're all poorly…"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologise, just take this and get better, you hear me?" she sighed as she handed him a snatching of herbs from the ground nearby and thrusting them into his hands, managing a quick and stealthy peck on his check in the process, which, on reflection, made him feel a heck of a lot better faster than the herbs did.

They stopped many times too, due to the poor conditions the terrain was in, and to take a quick refreshment break. Once again, the two youths seemed to leap at the chance to slink off alone together, laughing and whispering to each other whilst Axel gazed after them, wary but unable to deny he was starting to find it unbearably adorable. Each time, they would wander off, arm in arm, until one of the other two shouted they were going forward again. Then they would return, still whispering in the other's ear and smiling widely, no longer arm in arm, but more tightly joint at the hip, an arm around the other's waist and their heads together as they strolled onwards side-by-side. And each time, the smile they came back with was wider and more sincere.

The last time they'd slunk off together, it had been on a large plateau. They left the thinning scattering of trees and chased each other through a field of wildflowers, until Demyx caught up with her and they both tumbled to the floor, laughing loudly. Then they lay amongst the flowers, picking out strange and amusing shapes in the clouds. For a while, they contently lay beside each other, only occasionally breaking the silence to point out a cloud that looked suspiciously like some animal or other. Fifteen minutes of this later, Tabby sat up and picked up a long stemmed-flower, sniffing it carefully. Then she glanced over her shoulder: Demyx had closed his eyes and seemed to be enjoying the crisp mountain breeze as it whistled over them, the flowers around them swaying in unison. A peacock butterfly landed on his nose. He didn't even twitch.

She stifled a chuckle and once sure she wouldn't be interrupted, she began picking petals off the flower one by one. She took the penultimate one off and smiled at the sight of the last one, savouring the moment before plucking it off, leaving the flower bare.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked and saw Demyx kneeling just behind her, smiling dopily. The butterfly was still on his nose, wings opening and closing slowly in content.

This time she couldn't help herself. She laughed, and he joined in, carefully nudging the delicate insect from it's perch. It fluttered up into the sky, leaving the other two rolling around in the patchwork of flowers.

By the time they had reached the new camp, it was yet another day done with as the sky turned black, and the entire company was glad of the idea of turning in for the night.

There was a small hollow inside the rock face big enough for one sleeping bag and Demyx had insisted that Tabby have it so she could have some privacy. The deal had been sealed with a ruthless battle of rock paper scissors and the boys had gotten to work claiming their own different corners of the sheltered hillside. Due to not having any tent or actual roof-alternative, Axel and Roxas were pinning all their hopes of a dry night on Demyx being able to deflect the rain in his sleep. Something they highly doubted, but kept hoping upon hope for at any rate.

The sun had long gone down and the campfire was burning happily under a bright silver crescent moon. There were hardly any clouds in the sky that night, and Tabby took it as her prompt to teach Demyx something about astronomy. And so they sat on one of the higher branches of a nearby tree, away from the hustle and bustle of the other two squabbling over who got what sleeping bag and who was in charge of collecting firewood – a little private place made just for two dreamers to gaze up at the heavens together.

"…There?"

"A little more to the left… yep! That's it! That's the eye of Ursa Major."

"That's the 'big bear'… right?"

"Yep."

"Wow… oh! I know that one… that's the Big Dipper right?"

"Yeah… it's one of the easiest constellations to spot, but it's still one of my favourites." She trailed off wistfully, then asked, "What's your star sign, Demyx?"

"Uh… I think I'm on the cusp… or… I'm just one day away from being on the cusp…" he bit his lip, trying to remember. He'd never paid too much attention to the horoscope section of his sister's magazines when she read them aloud at breakfast every morning. "I think… I think I'm Pisces or Aries… I can't be sure which I was though…"

Tabby considered this for a moment, then mumbled, "Pisces. I'm sure of it."

"Hm? What makes you say that?"

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes, as if about to say something she'd memorised by heart. "Those born under the sign of Pisces, otherwise shown as the two fish, are said to be imaginative, sensitive, dreamy, easy-going, charitable and artistic. They also are easily distracted and can sometimes even be described as detached. The ideal ambitions of many born under Pisces tend to be to do with caring for the sick, or simply just creative roles, such as becoming musicians."

He gazed at her, mouth slightly open in shock, then murmured, "Whoa. How… how did you know that?"

"What? Know your personality and ambitions, or just know what Pisces people are usually determined to turn out like?"

"Both!" he laughed. She just shrugged with a slight smile and sighed, "I love star gazing and finding their meanings… ever since I was a little girl and Dad took me out camping… but that was a long time ago."

"What happened to your dad?"

"He drowned one day. Terrible storm whilst he was fishing."

"Oh… oh Tabby, I'm sorry-"

"Ah, I'm over it. Don't feel the need to apologise for something you didn't even know about, Demyx," she shrugged the words off, still unfazed. He gazed at her sadly, then looked back up into the sky pondering what to say in reply. Finally, he said, "What about your mom?"

Tabby's face actually fell for real at this and she mumbled very quietly, "She hasn't got long… cancer of the lung: advanced… it doesn't look at all long before… it… well… you know…"

He dearly had an urge to throw himself out of the tree for even mentioning her mother and he instantly began babbling for her forgiveness and gushed his sympathy at her in torrents, but she held up a hand with a barely noticeable smile and sighed, "No… really… it's not your fault… please…"

"I am so, so, so sorry Tabby," he whined a final time, hands clasped together in pleading for forgiveness. "That was so insensitive of me! I'm an utter jerk! I am so so so freakin' sorry! God I-i I am such a bad person! I'm so sorry! Oh God I didn't-"

Any further rambled apologies were silenced as she kept her thumb and index finger clamped around his lips.

"Don't worry about it, seriously…" she rolled her eyes, but still hugged herself in self-comfort and lowered her head, mumbling, "The only thing I'm truly scared about when the time comes is… is… I don't want to be alone…"

There was a long pause, then Demyx cleared his throat and said quietly, "You won't be alone… you'll still have me. You just need to call me when you get lonesome and I'll be right there… I won't let you feel sad, not if I can help it… I'll look after you. I promise."

"… Your kindness is going to be your downfall."

"Might well be, but that doesn't mean I'll stop being kind to you before then."

She finally managed a laugh, then lifted her head again, flushed but not so miserable anymore. She wordlessly thanked him with a smile and a giggle, then they looked back up into the sky.

"And if you're wondering where exactly Pisces is up there," Tabby mumbled, trying to change the subject: "It's next to Pegasus… right there."

He followed her finger and made out the two separating outlines of the constellation, hanging in the sky. He gazed up at it for some time, wondering if those little dots really had foretold his future at his birth, when suddenly Tabby shuffled on the branch nervously then mumbled, "I'm a Pisces too, you know…"

"Seriously?" he looked at her. She just fiddled with her hands a little and nodded shyly. "That's awesome. We just keep getting more and more in common…"

"I know," she sighed in soft content. "Guess even the stars acknowledge we have something, huh?"

"Guess they do," Demyx smiled, putting his hand on hers. The sensation of this made her look at him coyly, their gazes meeting for a few fleeting moments then tearing away in shy amusement.

"Demu?"

"Hmmm?"

"What do you think those stars really are?"

"Me? Oh….. well…" he trailed off – he knew what they were really, but tried to think of a way to say it without making her suspicious of him. Eventually, he settled for, "I reckon each star is another world, with it's own people, it's own cultures, it's own laws… And I think every night, someone on those worlds looks up into the sky and sees our world as we see theirs: a beautiful, shining speck of light in the night… just out of reach, but always there…"

Tabby shivered and huddled closer to him until she was leant on his side. "That was strangely poetic…"

"Sorry…"

"No, don't apologise… I think it was beautiful. You should consider writing poetry… you'd be wonderful at it…"

"Naah… I don't like words too much…. after all, one bar of music can express the same things a thousand words can in so little time… I'll stick to composing… It's something I just can't do without, my music."

"I suppose… I adore poetry though. Though caring for others is my first love, I think poetry is a very close third."

"Third? What's your second?"

She didn't answer but just looked at him, her pupils scrolling up and down as if examining him, eyebrows raised and lips tugging up in the corners. He instantly got the gist and giggled. "I'm flattered. Have you ever been musically trained?"

"I once butchered my parent's ears with a violin when I was little."

"Ah, I wasn't too good with a violin… my sister was a natural, but my first instrument was a piano."

"First? What else do you play?"

"Oh, now you're asking. Heh! Um… let's see, in chronological order… piano, guitar, flute, saxophone and my current pride and joy, sitar."

"Sitar? My, you must be very talented!" Tabby gasped. Demyx just laughed, whilst inwardly cringing – his somebody had NEVER managed to play the instrument properly, which greatly irritated his grandfather – the instrument was highly valued in his culture, and to find his own grandson fail completely to manage a simple scale or respect the traditional way of learning was rather insulting to him. It was only during the process of losing his heart that Demyx seemed to have gained the flawless ability to play it, and play it as if he'd been playing all his life. However, he soon forgot the fact he'd 'fluked' his way into playing it, and instead complimented Tabby on her musical knowledge. She nodded distantly, before swinging her legs lazily and looking up into the night. "Do you ever wish you could go there?"

"Hmmm?"

"Other worlds…"

"Heh, well, I do an awful lot of travelling…" Demyx carried on, pleased she wanted to hear more. "And I like to think I have been to some of those worlds after a long time on the move…"

"Yeah… I guess… heard any interesting stories whilst you've been globe-trotting?"

"Well there's this one place where you can pick this special fruit called a paopu… and… apparently…" he blushed vividly as his voice died and wondered why on earth that particular thing had just leapt into his thoughts. Confused and a little disappointed, Tabby looked up at him and mumbled, "And…? Tell me. I like hearing you talk…"

He reeled numbly from that for a brief moment then cleared his throat and continued telling her. "Well, there's an old legend that says if you share a paopu with someone you really care about, your destinies become intertwined and you form an unbreakable bond… so no matter where you go, or what you do, you and that person are fated to be together in your hearts…"

"And do you believe that?" she enquired curiously, clinging tighter to his arm.

"I… I think I'd like to, but I have no idea if it works or not… might just be an old folk's tale… but at the same time there's just something so magical about it, I can't help but wonder what it would be like… I want to try it though…"

Tabby smiled widely then whispered, "Well, that makes two of us, so I guess we're all set."

Demyx flinched and stared at her, wide-eyed and absolutely glowing red in embarrassment. Yet despite the fact he was still reeling from her statement, he realised how beautiful she looked in the moonlight: her wind-swept raven hair shifting in the night breeze, the crescent moon reflected in her perfect eyes. And suddenly, the idea of sharing a paopu with her really didn't seem that impossible anymore. If anything, the idea of inot/i sharing a paopu with her seemed impossible. She just looked back at him, unable to keep composed at his flushed face, but she put a hand over her mouth to stifle the laughter.

"Are you being serious?" he asked breathlessly. Tabby laughed harder and nodded vigorously. "I'm serious! Bring me back some when you come back next and we'll try it! We'll see if it's true or not!"

Demyx could now feel his skin burning and he found himself laughing almost as hard as her, eyes watering in pure delight. "You're totally serious aren't you? Wow… well in that case, instead of bringing some back, maybe I'll take you there some day! Just you and me! We could lie on the beach, and… and watch the sun go down and swim in the sea and take walks along the cliff and eat ice cream and… and… and well... whatever you want to do! You'd love it Tabs I know you would!"

She broke her laughter, panting as she fought to calm down, then mumbled sincerely, "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot."

She began playing with her hands to distract herself from blushing. Next to her, Demyx sidled even closer and put his hand over hers with the lightest of touches, making her look up into his face. They exchanged a fond smile then looped an arm around the other's waist and looked back up into the sky. Below them in the dying firelight of the camp, Axel was pretending not to watch. He wasn't the only one.

"Star-gazing… right… that's a good one…" Roxas mumbled, jotting down something in a notebook he'd bought along.

"Are you making notes on methods of flirting?" Axel asked incredulously from under his sleeping back, trying to make it look like he was asleep. Lying on the sleeping bag nearby, Roxas just stuck out his tongue and continued scribbling before looking back up to observe what was happening in the tree.

"Picking up some tips for when you next see Naminé, huh?"

"No, I'm making notes for you so next time you see Larxene-"

"Shuddap kid. It's past your bedtime."

"Since when did I have a bedtime?"

"Since you made a sneaky remark about me and Larxene. Now go to sleep."

"Make me."

"Fine. Number Thirteen: I, as Number eight, being your superior, do hereby command you get into that sleeping bag and sleep in it."

Roxas huffed and put his notebook away before growling, "you didn't have to pull rank you know." Axel just offered him a cheeky grin as the youth slid into the bag and wriggled down trying to reluctantly get to sleep.

"Hey, it's for your own good you know… you need plenty of rest… we don't want you getting sick again…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know… but we have a qualified doctor with us now, so it's not that bad…"

"That may be so," Axel looked back up the tree, trying not to laugh. "But Dr Tabby is currently performing mouth-to-mouth with a patient suffering from the 'love bug' right now."

"Seriously?" Roxas rolled over and sat up to look into the branches. "Wow, she is and all."

"Okay, this is gonna sound incredibly creepy, but am I the only one finding the sight of them two making out incredibly hot?"

"Yes. Yes you are."

"Forget I said anything."

"Gladly."

They lay watching some more for a while, then Roxas asked, "Why were you so against them getting together? I mean, look at them! They seem to be getting along just fine if you ask me… and hell…….. they're actually gonna try the paopu… that's just… whoa. You only ever start italking/i to a girl about them when you are utterly serious about her… They seem to be just made for each other! So why'd you make a big thing of trying to stop them getting together?"

Axel bit his lip, scratched his head then sighed, "I honestly don't know. At first I didn't think he was that serious about her… that it'd be just a passing fancy. But… I guess when I first realised they were flirting for real and that he wanted her here… I just don't know, Roxas. I really don't."

They fell into another brief silence in which they watched as the lovers above them broke out of the kiss and rested their foreheads together, whispering quiet confessions of adoration and smiling smiles of utter bliss as they clasped each other's hands tightly, stroking the other's fingers with their thumbs. Roxas grinned and said, "You know what I think? I think you got scared that Demyx wouldn't need you anymore."

"Hmmm?"

"We all know how clingy you can get to us… always wanting to be the big old protective brother who'll always fuss over us and do everything in our best interests… I think you're scared Demyx has grown up too fast for you."

Axel stared at Roxas in contemplation then chuckled, "You could very well be right about that… I guess that would explain why I… Oh shoot! They're coming down! Quick pretend to be asleep!"

Obediently, Roxas lay back down and closed his eyes while Axel buried himself completely under the covers and put on a highly convincing snore. The sound of rustling grew louder as Demyx and Tabby descended the tree, Demyx offering his hand to help her the last couple of steps until they were both on the ground again.

"Well… good night," she whispered, wringing her arms shyly.

"Yeah… you too, Tabs…"

From under the covers, Roxas could just about hear a brief kiss, then Tabby walking to the hole in the rock face the other side of their sleeping area. Slowly peeking out from the covers, he saw Demyx standing there, eyes half-closed in what looked like utter happiness before carefully picking his way over to the empty sleeping bag to Axel's right. He tripped due to being utterly distracted though and barely caught his footing, shaking himself as if only just realising he'd been daydreaming, then slipped under the covers, sighing in absolute bliss.

From under his sleeping bag, Roxas could spot a pair of vivid green eyes glowing in the dark fire-light looking towards him and just by the eyes alone, Roxas could tell Axel was grinning from ear to ear.

No words were exchanged, but Roxas grinned back, returning the 'damn, he's one lucky guy, huh?" look before they both rolled over and tried to get to sleep.

_____________________________________

Nudge nudge.

"Mmph…"

A short pause. Nudge nudge.

"Mnnnnuh? Oh… uh… wass wrong?"

"… It's dark and I'm scared…"

Another pause, then a brief smile as he got the message and let her snuggle down next to him, his arms wrapping around her as she got comfortable. Forehead to forehead, they gazed into the other's eyes.

"Better?"

"Mmm hmmm…"

"Good. Sweet dreams."

"Hee hee, you too."

A brief kiss goodnight, and then peaceful slumber.

_______________________________________________

It was some time in the early morning when Demyx felt someone shaking his shoulder to wake him up. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up to find Tabby leaning over him, looking rather guilty.

"Heya sleepy… sorry about waking you…"

"Uuuuh… s'all right, Tabbsey… I was just dreamin' about you…"

She allowed a returning smile to his own then sighed heavily, the smile lost in an expression of reluctance.

"Hmmmm? What's wrong?" he frowned a little in worry, worming an arm free and putting his hand over hers.

"I really need to go. I've been away from the clinic far too long… I have patients to take care of. Plus I'll only get in you boys' way…"

"Do you really have to go?" Demyx mumbled, still half-asleep. She nodded sadly. "Alright: I understand… will you be okay on your own?"

She gave a nervous giggle and sighed, "I think I'll survive the journey back okay, Demu. I have lived here all my life, you know."

"It's still pretty dark though… you might trip on something and really hurt yourself coming down the mountain… or you might run into another bear."

"Then it will be my problem, and not yours."

"Well…….. just be careful, okay?" he sat up a little, leaning on his elbows, then paused for a very long time before he asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to come?" with a rather concerned expression.

"It's not a case of 'wanting', it's more you can't just leave your brothers up here without telling them where you've gone… and I'd hate to make them worry…"

"Does that mean you want me to come, but you don't want me to get in trouble?" Demyx grinned slyly. She smiled and put her head to one side.

"You got me," she admitted finally.

"Well, I'll still come with you if you really want me to…"

"But your brothers-"

"-Can wait," Demyx finished bluntly, sitting up more and scrabbling out of his sleeping bag. Taken aback by his determination to take her home safely, Tabby dumbly got to her feet with him and watched as he dusted himself down then gave her a friendly smile. She returned it, then rolled her eyes as she picked a leaf out of his ruffled hair.

"You know, sometimes you're too sweet for your own good," she sighed.

"So you keep telling me…"

"You don't have to come with me if you really don't want to, Demyx…"

"But I do want to. I don't want you getting hurt… that would be awful, and I'd never forgive myself for letting you go alone."

"Oh… stop it!" the girl giggled. "You're making me feel all special…"

"But you are special. You're the most special thing in life… compared to you, everything is just boring… you make everything that much brighter… that's why you're special… that's what I love about you."

"I'm not as special as you…" she replied, leaning closer. "You have the voice of an angel… and a personality to match…"

He shook his head with a disbelieving beam but copied her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, which she gladly buried herself into with a sigh of content, before whispering, "Sing that song again… that one you were singing earlier by the lake…"

"Oh, you don't want to listen to me sing… my singing isn't as good as people say… my sister… now there's a singer. One of the best…"

"Well, I haven't heard your sister. I've heard you. And I want to hear you again. You have the most beautiful voice and I like hearing it. Please?"

He paused coyly for a while, then leant close to her ear and sang softly, '_You could be my unintended choice to live my life extended, you could be the one I'll always love… you could be the one who listens to my deepest inquisitions, you could be the one I'll always love…"_

She sighed in his arms and closed her eyes as he began to fall away into the song, voice getting a little stronger, but oh so gentle at the same time. By the middle of the next verse, she couldn't sit still anymore and cut him off in mid-song as their lips met.

Though the song was left unspoken, the message still got through.

As the pulled apart only by the merest of fractions, she breathed heavily and said with the sincerest of gratitude, "Thank you."

They stood gazing fondly at each other for some time, both smiling. Ten seconds later, they both blushed then broke into light-hearted chuckles.

"Oi, Romeo! Juliet!" a sleepy voice interrupted their giggling and they both nervously turned to look at Axel's sleeping bag – surprisingly enough, both Axel and Roxas were sat on it, giving knowing smiles and resting their chins on their hands as if immersed in some romance film.

"Stop gawking at each other and go already," Axel grinned.

_________________________________________________________

A/N - I know how it feels when you're having a moment with someone, only to have your mates hovering over your shoulder trying to give you advice/tell you they're no good for you/asking awkward questions.


	4. This Year's Love

A beautiful sunrise was bursting out of the horizon, filtering gently through the thinning trees and a cool breeze brushed their faces softly as they raced down the hill, laughing and jeering playfully at each other, weaving between the trees, skipping over stones and splashing though tiny streams, chasing each other, the sound of their mirth ringing throughout the morning forest.

Gathering his breath, Demyx jogged to a steady stop and waited by the trunk of a large pine tree, panting and face flushed in laughter. However, to his surprise, he found Tabby was nowhere to be seen, despite him being sure she'd only been a few metres behind.

"Tabby?" he called worriedly, squinting into the forest to see if he could spot her.

There was about two seconds of still, then with a triumphant cry, Tabby pounced on him from behind and wrapped her arms around his stomach, making them both fall forward and tumble down a slight slope, laughing and squeaking. They landed in a soft blanket of freshly fallen leaves, dizzy and flustered, eyes closed as they both laughed harder.

"Got you," Tabby cackled, opening her eyes and looking down on him – she had landed on top of him and now had him pinned to the floor. He stuck out his tongue in reply. Completely unfazed by this response, Tabby just leant closer to him and placed her lips over his tongue.

"No fair," he mumbled shyly as she pulled away after a brief kiss, yet he reached up and repositioned her glasses as they had turned askew from the tumble.

"Heh, I think it's perfectly fair. But if you'd like another to feel satisfied, don't be scared to ask."

"Oh, really now?"

"Oh yes."

"Hmmm… alright… just one more… I don't want to be too greedy…"

He got his wish and giggled as she began kissing up his neck, sliding her hand under his jacket and under his back whilst her other kept his left arm pinned. His right arm was busy stroking her cheek and running down her spine. He felt her hand pushing under his shirt now, on his bare chest, as if feeling for a pulse.

Suddenly with a tiny hint of panic he snapped his eyes open and stammered, "Nu uh… enough now…"

"What's the matter?" she looked rather taken aback by his sudden outburst. He firmly removed her hand from under his shirt and placed in on top, giving a nervous smile to try and appear casual.

"N-nothing… I'm just a little ticklish there…"

"Oh?"

"Don't even think about it young lady."

She gave a dramatic cackle and pretended to prepare to lunge for his 'tickle spot' but did as he bade and didn't pry any further.

"There… no more," she finished smugly, sitting on his chest, arms folded in triumphant finality.

"Just one?" he pleaded.

"Mmmm… well, I don't know if you deserve one… convince me."

"Well… in that case…" he trailed off, grinning widely. Then, all of sudden, he sat upright, knocking Tabby off balance and onto the floor. While she giggled, he leant over her then poked her gently in the ribs. She squealed louder and curled up defensively, cackling, "No! Don't, I'm ticklish…"

"Oh… you ARE, are you?"

"No… no no no no no Demyx don't no! I didn't tickle you when you were down don't you go and-" she tried to roll away but ended up howling in laughter as he gave a dramatic cry and proceeded to tickle her relentlessly. After a few seconds of protesting and squealing, she managed to roll free and scrambled to her feet again, racing down the hill, Demyx in hot pursuit: the chase was back on. Above them, the morning chorus twittered into life, and the sun shone down kindly on them.

It truly was a beautiful day to be alive.

_______________________________________________________

Meanwhile, at the very peak, something was stirring.

"Die, you heart-sucking demons!" Axel grinned manically as another dozen heartless burst into flames and dissipated into darkness. The other side of him, Roxas was finishing off the Soldier that had just appeared, and then began to fix his attention on the air-bourn heartless hovering overhead.

"Axel, Wyvern at three o'clock."

"Ten four!"

They darted about the advancing creatures for another ten minutes, striking any that got too close, doubling back to gather their bearings then cutting through the swarms all over again, always keeping an eye on the other in case they needed back-up.

After the worst of the hordes had been subdued, the rest vanished into darkness, retreating to heal and think of a counter attack. Dispatching one more Powerwild, Axel caught his chakram then dismissed them both, grinning immensely and cackling, "Whooooo baby that was just the kind of work out I needed. Man, I have been getting out of shape."

"Speak… for your… self…" Roxas panted, leaning heavily on Oblivion.

"Oh quit whinging, you light-weight. We're all finished up here. We can go home now. Heh, AND we did all that without Dem's help."

"Yeah well, Dem is gonna be making dinner when we get back – about time he did some work."

"Ah, you can't interfere with the guy's current distractions," Axel snorted as he slowly made his way down the hill, Roxas hobbling behind. "Hell, I may even go as far as saying he might not even be spending the night at the lodge…"

"Axel…"

"Okay, so maybe they aren't that serious, but… still…"

"Um… actually Axel, I was gonna say I think they're already… well…… that close…"

"Say wha?" Axel stared at the boy dumbly.

"Well, all I'm saying is when I woke up in the cave, I heard a lot of quiet laughing and hushed whispers… so… I went to investigate…"

_A lot of soft giggling accompanied with secretive 'shhhhh'es were barely audible over the noise of the leaves rustling in the trees. It was still loud enough to make Roxas' headache hurt twice as hard, though. Having woken up to find Axel completely out for the count and Demyx seemingly missing, he was incredibly nervous and felt understandably vulnerable, so had really debated going to examine what the source of these stealthy noises were. However, he had bitten his lip, told himself to stay alert and had bravely peered his head out of the cave into the outside world._

_There with his back against the trunk of a tree, having his face snogged off by what Roxas barely recognised as the girl from before, was Demyx. Neither of the older people seemed to notice the fifteen year old stood watching in fascinated surprise, as both had their eyes closed and were busy running their hands down the other's back. Well, that wasn't entirely true, Roxas realised as he looked closer. The girl's fingers were latched around the zip of Demyx's jacket and were slowly tugging it down so it came undone whilst Demyx's were sliding up the back of her shirt, working on the bra strap underneath…_

"This flashback is fucking hot," Axel said, mouth agape before getting clouted around the head by Roxas for interrupting the flashback.

_She had already undone his jacket and was starting to shrug her black coat over her shoulders so she was down to her thin, vaguely see-through white blouse whilst he briefly paused his work on the strap to run his fingers up her neck and towards her cheeks. She pressed him further up against the trunk, so close to him now they were practically one figure at a glance and still their lips met again and again and again and…_

"I stand corrected. This flashback isn't fucking hot. It is on fucking FIRE."

"_What the heck is going on here?" Roxas asked in a tiny voice. The couple broke apart instantly, eyes wide in panic and breathlessly trying to sort themselves out: Tabby clutching the collar of her blouse where it had slipped off her shoulder and Demyx hastily readjusting his own shirt where it had been yanked up at the bottom showing his stomach for what Roxas could only assume would have been Tabby's attempt to unzip something other than his jacket._

"Why the hell did you stop them!? I was WATCHING that!"

"_R-roxas… we didn't hear you wake up…" the now bright red Nocturne remarked casually, clearing his throat loudly as Tabby did the top buttons of her blouse back up again. "We were just... uh… talking. Yeah…"_

"_Pretty hard to talk when your mouths are sucking each other's faces off isn't it?" the boy asked in stunned amusement._

"_Now… Roxas wasn't it?" Tabby began breathlessly as Demyx turned a dangerous shade of beetroot in awkwardness. "Me and your brother were just… uh… performing an oral examination… okay?"_

"_You were being very thorough, I noticed…"_

"_Ah, but it's my job to be thorough. Now… Demu I think we'll call that session a success."_

"_Uh… g-good… super…"_

"_Look guys, I'm not dumb. I've had The Talk and everything," Roxas grinned slyly, folding his arms. "I am willing to bet my left boot that if I hadn't interrupted the 'oral' examination would have turned into a very 'thorough' examination of what's in your pan-"_

"_Roxas!" Demyx interrupted frantically. "Seriously, we were… we were just…"_

"_Just what?"_

"……………………_. Just being in love," Demyx finished with a strange giddy smile, finally sagging his shoulders in defeat. After all, why fight the inevitable truth? Beside him, Tabby flushed a little, a hand to her mouth to stop her laughing, but she willingly let him put an arm around her and pull her close, kissing her neck._

_Roxas observed them, unable to keep a grin off his face._

"_About time you admitted it," he rolled his eyes as they smiled at him, heads resting together. Their eyes sparkled with sheer happiness and just watching them Roxas had to wonder if all the delight was contagious: he couldn't wipe the stupid grin off of his face to save his life._

_It was only when Tabby had broken out of the older male's embrace and slowly made her way back to the cave to check on Axel's condition and left the two boys alone when Roxas decided to alert Demyx to the fact his flies were undone._

"I mean… just…………….. wow."

"They ARE a cute couple…" Roxas finally admitted. "Do you reckon she's his first?"

"Well, he told me himself he didn't really have any girlfriends at school… he had crushes, but he never got up and said his feelings aloud. You know, Tabby may very well be his first… that may explain why they're both so good together…"

"Care to explain, oh veteran of love?"

"Well, when you're young and inexperienced and you find someone you like, you go absolutely crazy about them. You can't think of anything but them, they seem like the most perfect being to walk the earth… you think they're absolutely flawless. But, once you gain experience, you realise you have no real attraction to them, and soon you'll find better partners… it goes on and on. Some people never find someone they truly love."

"…… That is such a depressing idea. Remind me never to ask you for advice regarding girls."

"Hey, _I_ wouldn't ask me for advice about girls. I've only had thirty girlfriends now, and none of them have stayed around for more than a week."

"Thirty?"

"And I only woke up in bed with five of 'em-"

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION THANK YOU."

"And technically two of those five I slept with at the exact same time-"

Roxas put his hands over his ears and started chanting 'My sweet virgin ears' again and again and again for ten whole seconds before he suddenly bumped into Axel, who had stopped stock still and seemed to tense up.

"Something's wrong," the tall man narrowed his eyes, voice suddenly low and serious.

Roxas asked him what, but he held up a hand to silence the boy, then swore loudly and pulled Roxas along with him into a bush, hidden from view.

"What the hell!"

"Shhhhh! Stay down!" Axel hissed, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth and his shining green eyes peering out of the darkness of the bush, watch for the slightest movement.

Outside the bush, there came a loud rustling and strange hissing and groaning. Roxas felt Axel's hold on him tighten almost as if he was terrified that whatever was going on out there would hurt him. A few minutes passed, then silence. Axel swore and pulled them both out of the bush, pale faced and sweating.

"Axel, what's going on…?"

Axel was too busy withdrawing his phone from his pocket to answer right away, but whilst he dialled a number into it, he rambled breathlessly, "Heartless. There's more of them here. More than we could have imagined."

"What?! But… we just killed them all!"

"No, no we didn't. We just killed the guards posted outside the main nest. The rest were in the mountain itself."

"Well, let's go get them already."

"Roxas, they're all heading down the hill. They're after something, otherwise they would have gladly ripped us apart just now when we were hiding."

Roxas blinked. Everything seemed to be happening all at once. Before he could ask for a clearer explanation though, Axel had finally got through with his call.

"Demyx. Look, I don't care, alright!? Sh… will you just listen to me! You and Tabby are in grave danger! You've gotta get off the mountain RIGHT NOW! They're after Tabby's heart! Get her out of here! … I don't know! Just go! Anywhere! There's got to be around a couple hundred or so… all headed your way. You can't take them. No, I'm serious! I'm not doubting your ability! Hell, I doubt all three of us together would be able to take them down without one of us getting seriously hurt! Just… I don't care, just save yourselves!"

And with that he hung up and without even explaining, grabbed Roxas' wrist and dragged the boy running down the hill.

"Axel what's happening!?"

"Those heartless have picked up Tabby's pulse. They're going to try and get her."

"Why Tabby?"

"She's probably the only thing with a human pulse on this mountain for some time. These heartless must be starving – I mean, have you noticed there's barely any animals here? They must have all been devoured. Now Tabby's come… it's like being offered a free three-course dinner after starving for a week. They aren't going to let her go without a fight. And unless we get there in time, Demyx is going to have to handle all of them himself. And… if it comes to that… Roxas: he isn't going to make it."

________________________________________________________________

Sweating in panic, Demyx hung up then turned to face Tabby in the driver's seat of her pick-up truck, pale and fearful.

"Tabby, we have to go…" he managed weakly.

"What's the rush?" she asked, still fiddling with the radio. "It won't take us long to get back to the clinic, and even then I think my mother can hold shop until we get back."

"No, Tabby. We REALLY have to go."

This time she finally looked up and frowned in confusion, then slowly leant forward and put a palm on his cheek softly. "What's wrong, Demyx? Do you not feel well?"

"Tabby, please, just get us out of here. Please."

"What was that call about anyway?"

"It was my brother saying we really need to get out of here. So… can we?"

"Oh, that brother of yours… he really doesn't want me around does he?" Tabby sighed wistfully, finally starting the engine, but not actually moving anywhere and instead taking her sweet time putting on her seatbelt.

"It's more than that Tabby. We really should go. Please."

She stared at him, very worried at his behaviour. He just gazed back, eyes wide in terror, before giving another fearful whisper of, "Please… we have to get out of here."

She considered him for a few seconds more, then she nodded in reassurance and put a hand on his lap to calm him down.

"Well, okay. Whatever you say."

And to Demyx's relief, the truck began to roll forward down the dirt path. Sighing in utter gratitude, he rested his head back against the top of the seat and let his gaze wander towards the signal mirror.

He thought he saw a flash of blue-black in the reflection, but upon closer inspection, he found nothing there, so dismissed it as a trick of the light.

That is until something suddenly hit his side of the truck so hard the vehicle was flipped into the air, hitting a large tree, then landing upside-down on a slope, coming to a stop after sliding twenty metres down.

In utter shock at the sudden attack, Demyx coughed, reeling. Oh gods his neck felt like it was on fire… he hoped it wasn't broken… He undid his seat belt – his whole left side was screaming in absolute agony - frantically to escape the wreckage, pain shooting like an icy burn down his thigh. He looked to his side and saw Tabby was slumped over the wheel, head bleeding and her window cracked where it seemed her head had hit it.

"Oh God no… Tabby… Tabby! Oh… God please don't be dead… please…" he reached forward tearfully to try and shake her, to check her pulse, to do isomething/i…

However, before he could, he felt a long pair of black arms reaching in through his smashed window and dragging him out of the up-turned truck. Struggling, he punched the Neoshadow in the jaw and rolled onto his feet, sitar at the ready.

He was met by the gleaming yellow eyes of approximately two hundred and twenty three heartless – Darkballs, Wyverns, Neoshadows and even a Stealth Sneak or three, fizzling in and out of reality.

"Well, fuck," he said simply, before conjuring a orb of water in his hand, hurling it upwards into the sky then letting it swirl like a wet Catherine wheel above the canopy.

Once satisfied the other two could now pinpoint him, he returned his attention back to the heartless, spending only a second casting his gaze back at the smoking wreck of the truck.

The thought of Tabby being hurt making him shake and flush red in fury. He turned back to the swarm that were prowling all around him, eying him up hungrily. Eyes narrowing, he brandished his sitar defensively, water swirling all around him.

"So which one of you bastards is first?"

The larger of the Stealth Sneaks let out a shrill screech, turning invisible, tearing towards him. The other two followed it. The Darkballs vibrated tensely, ready to thrash at him. All the Neoshadows slunk into the floor, speeding towards him in puddles of dark energy as the Wyverns dived at him, claws out-stretched, battle cries filling the air.

He simply glared at the approaching army, clenched his sitar, then screamed, "I'll kill you ALL!"

________________________________________________________

Upon spotting the water-beacon twisting in the sky ahead of them, Axel's pace doubled to flat-out sprinting, easily clearing rocks and logs that scattered about the forest floor. Roxas tried keeping up but being considerably shorter was not so capable of hurdling the obstacles and ended up running around them, which meant he'd fallen behind a fair way. Not wanting to lose the boy, Axel was forced to wait every few minutes until he'd caught up before tearing off again, which made progress slow and exhausting.

It was twenty minutes into the frantic dash when Roxas tumbled headlong over a log and landed with a cry. Axel skidded to try and stop himself and made to run back to help him or see if he was alright, but he screeched to a halt when Roxas lifted his head and shot an arm outwards pointing. "Go!" he shouted firmly. "I'll catch up! Just GO!"

Axel opened his mouth to argue but Roxas just practically screamed at him, "I said GO!"

Nodding numbly, the man jogged backwards a few steps before finally turning back to face the sloping path of the hill and tore down it, hoping they weren't too late. Without Roxas slowing him down, he reached the area beneath the swirling water beacon in a matter of minutes.

The clearing he found himself in was not – as he'd expected – over-run by heartless. Instead, he made out a weary and battered Demyx hauling something out of the driver's window of Tabby's pick-up truck, which was for some reason over-turned and lying mournfully damaged beyond all repair ahead of them. Axel could see a trail of blood following the injured guy as he struggled with whatever was in his grasp. He looked barely conscious, and one of his arms was hanging awkwardly. It was absolutely blood-stained.

"Demyx, are you alright?!" Axel shouted, rushing over…

Then froze in his tracks.

Demyx didn't even seem to realise he was there, and was instead too busy leaning over Tabby's lifeless body, compressing her chest with what looked like all of what was left of his dying strength, hissing, "Come on, Tabby. Wake up! Wake up!"

Fifteen chest compressions later, then he performed the kiss of life.

Nothing but a sudden crumbling in Axel's gut as he realised what was happening.

Oblivious, Demyx carried on gazing at her face desperately, almost in tears now, breathing, "Come on Tabby. Wake up. Please. Wake up."

More chest compressions and another mouth-to-mouth resuscitation that resulted in nothing but a few drops of blood from the wound in Demyx's head dripping onto her cold cheeks.

Very slowly, Axel crept over next to Demyx, who was still relentlessly performing CPR and whispering, pleading, for her to wake up. The youth didn't even flinch when Axel knelt beside him and put a hand on his blood-stained shoulder.

"Demyx…"

"You gotta wake up Tabby! You've gotta!"

"Demyx….. listen to me…"

"Please Tabby… please… say something… p-please…"

"Demyx… it's no use."

"Why won't she wake up!?" Demyx finally looked at Axel – now full-on, Axel could see his face was bruised and a large gash in his forehead was responsible for the streams of blood running down his pale face and neck. Without even waiting for an answer, the half-traumatised, half-terrified youth carried on with the CPR, hoping against hope she would open her eyes and say something again, completely ignorant of the fact her neck was obviously broken. Had Axel a heart, he was pretty sure it would be breaking on Demyx's behalf.

Behind him, he heard Roxas finally catching up, breathless and panting, "Is… is he… alright!?" Then there was a long pause and a loud swallow. "Is that…?"

Axel stared over his shoulder at the boy who was pale and slack-jawed, eyes fixed on Tabby's body as Demyx continued relentlessly trying to revive her. The other two's eyes locked together briefly, and Axel shook his head sorrowfully, making Roxas gasp and throw both hands to his mouth in shock and horror. Unable to keep his attention away from his grief-stricken friend for any longer, the redhead looked back at Demyx. He squeezed the youth's shoulder and shook his head.

"Demyx. Look at me."

Demyx shook his head, tears finally falling, and yet he carried on hopelessly giving her the kiss of life.

"She's not going to wake up."

"You're lying…" Demyx shook his head miserably, returning to the chest compressing, though this time it was slower and more heavy, as if he was forcing himself to keep conscious for her sake. "She's got to wake up. She has to. You'll see. You all will. Please Tabby. Please. Don't leave me."

Kiss.

"You can't. You gotta wake up."

Kiss.

"You must. Please."

Kiss. A solitary sob.

"Please Tabby."

Kiss.

"Wake up."

No more kissing. A bitter choke.

"T… Tabby… please."

He collapsed over her torso.

"Oh… oh… Tabby… no. No. No."

It finally hit him.

It was too late to undo the damage.

The howl that followed was something neither Axel nor Roxas had ever heard a human produce in all their lives and haunted their nightmares for at least the next few weeks. It sounded like a wounded animal crying out into the desolate night as it was caught in a snare. It sounded like how one would imagine a mother might howl to find her baby had not survived it's birth. How a poor soul who had the only thing that ever mattered to them torn to shreds before it's very eyes might screech in absolute, undying, powerful, endless misery. So tortured. So ravished by grief. So endlessly in pain.

Axel said nothing more but very gently put his arms around Demyx's now weeping figure and pulled him away from her and into a hug. Unable to hold back anymore, Demyx simply bawled and cried and sobbed and wailed and wept, hardly hearing Axel's soft whisperings of comfort and sympathy and his assurances everything would be alright and how he'd done all he could and how at least the heartless hadn't got her and how proud she would have been of him and how proud _they_ were of how he'd fought off all those heartless by himself. All that was meaningless to Demyx. None of it would bring Tabby back.

____________________________________________________

The journey back to the lodge was a sombre and silent one.

Tabby's body had been driven back to her clinic, and in broken syllables and numb chokes, the news was broken to her mother that her daughter was no more – died in a tragic car accident on her way back from helping them.

_Her death is just a lie_, Demyx though numbly as he lay curled up in the backseat, unresponsive to anyone or anything – he just lay there, eyes unblinking, knees tucked to his chest, hands over his head, blocking out everything unimportant, not ready to face the world. Would he ever be ready to face the world again?

He honestly couldn't say.

Despite being ravished by grief, Tabby's mother had cleaned his wounds and tended to the bruises. She had bandaged the gashes and sat with him in her lap as they both cried. But despite all of her best efforts, he still had the most painful wound of all left clawing at him, tearing him apart.

By the time the newly freed Rover had scaled the hill up to the lodge, night had fallen. The car stopped and Demyx heard Axel and Roxas exiting the car. He felt the cold chill as they both briefly opened their doors and let the outside in, then the sudden warmth again once the doors slammed shut. A second later, the door closest to his head was opened and he felt a pair of hands come to rest on his shoulders, shaking him gently.

"Demyx… come on," he heard Axel's voice, almost pleading. He didn't budge. What was the point?

The hands slowly came away from his shoulders and instead wormed their way around his chest, tugging at him. He didn't so much as blink as he felt himself being pulled out of the car, even when Axel accidentally reopened the slice in his chest and made warm blood seep through the bandages. He was carried into the lodge, finally coming to rest on the third bed in the bedroom. Through his unmoving, half-closed eyes, he saw the other two staring down at him in grave concern, faces pale and expressions just so lost. Roxas was the first to speak.

"Demyx, please… talk to us."

The Nocturne ignored him and continued to stare into space, imagining Tabby stood there, smiling, so full of life – so beautiful. So young. So… perfect.

"Please… let us in…"

She hadn't deserved that. She hadn't deserved anything so horrible. She was pure, and young, and innocent, and so… so… blissfully… ihis/i.

Desperate to get through, Axel crouched right in Demyx's view, face to face with him. His eyes were full of pleading and urgency and just general helplessness.

"Please Demyx… don't do this to us. Don't do this to yourself."

Axel didn't care really. Axel had never liked Tabby. She knew that. She'd never complained though. She was too good to do that. She was an angel. His angel. And she had flown away back to heaven, with the stars. And every time he saw that constellation of Pisces, he would see her face, taste her lips, feel her breath…

Axel was now shaking him, calling his name, each time with ten times more sadness lacing his words.

He still didn't blink and continued to stare through him. He remained that way even when Roxas gently prised Axel away and they both left the room, closing the door behind them.

Outside the bedroom, Axel was leant with his back against the wall, hands over his face. Opposite him, Roxas was shivering, arms wrapped around himself.

"What are we going to do?" he asked finally, voice barely above a terrified whisper.

"I… I don't know, Roxas. I really… really… don't know."

"We can't just leave him to waste away like this! The longer he stays like this, the worse he'll get!"

"I know. But… god dammit, I can't stand seeing him like this… this is terrible. Terrible… alive enough to have strength to die… God… it's not fair on him… why him? Never hurt anyone, and yet has to be hurt by something this painful… just… why him?" Axel rambled under his breath, pulling away from the wall but still keeping his hands over his face.

"We have to send him back home…" Roxas rubbed his arms uneasily, following Axel into the lounge where they both sat heavily on the couch.

"No. If we do anything, we can't do that."

"Axel, the guy needs medical help… even if his physical wounds heal, he's gonna need a counsellor at least to help him get rid of the psychological ones."

"No. He needs _us_. He needs his family. He needs someone who understands him. Someone he trusts. Not some crackpot scientist who barely talks to the guy outside of medical examinations."

"But… what can we do?"

Axel sighed and shook his head despairingly, hands still firmly over his face. "I… I wish I knew. The poor guy finally gets the girl of his dreams, only to lose her… it's just not fair."

"You know, while we were driving back, I tried imagining what was going through his mind when he finally realised she was gone… I imagined it had been me and Naminé instead… but… I couldn't bear it…" Roxas admitted quietly, shivering. Finally pulling his hands away from his face so his tearful eyes were now there for the world to see, Axel put an arm around the boy and patted his shoulder in comfort.

"To destroy all those heartless… only to find it was no use… god, the pain he must be in… You know, when I warned him it might end in heartbreak, I wasn't expecting this…"

"Heartbreak?" Roxas snorted bitterly. "Us? We should be so lucky."

"Roxas… do you even know what heartbreak is?" Axel mumbled seriously. "It's not just having your heart broken, as the name implies. It's like having a chunk of your very soul torn out. It's like losing one of your senses. It's when everything you ever loved just ceases to be, and without it, you just can't function. You need it. You feel like you can't breathe. You wish you could die, but you can't bring yourself to do anything, or speak, or even think about anything but what you depend on for what can be months. And no matter how much you crave it, you know you can never have it ever again. And that's what makes it hurt so terribly… not loosing it, but _knowing_ it can't ever be found ever again… that's the punch line to the sickest little joke mankind has been cursed with…"

Roxas gazed at the red head, a hand absent-mindedly over his chest as Axel's words sank in. The older man's face was etched with weariness and utter drained hopelessness.

"Has… has that ever happened to you?" Roxas finally asked.

Axel didn't answer but closed his eyes slowly. A lone tear fell and landed on his lap. He took a short shaky breath then said, "It's a terrible, terrible thing Roxas. You must never think you're safe from it. It can hurt even the best of us."

And after that, nothing else was said on the matter.

______________________________________________________

That night, Roxas couldn't sleep.

He couldn't be sure if it was the blaring moonlight shining through the gap in the curtains into his eyes, Axel's atrociously loud snoring or the fact he couldn't stop casting his gaze over to Demyx's bed where the poor guy had been crying quietly for the past two hours. Maybe it was a combination of all three.

Sighing he decided the only way he'd get some sleep would be to get rid of these distractions. He slipped out of bed and padded over to the window, forcibly pulling the curtains until it was almost completely dark. Then he shuffled over to Axel's bed and with great effort, rolled him onto his side. The older man didn't so much as shift from being moved and just snuggled down into his covers sleepily, his loud snoring now reduced to quiet mumbling and heavy breathing. Satisfied the noise had been muffled at the very least for another hour, Roxas turned to face the third bed in the room, the lump under it's covers shaking gently as barely audible chokes flew from it.

Very carefully, the boy picked his way towards it, hopping up onto the mattress then gently peeling back the covers, half-expecting them to be wrenched back and be told to go away.

Instead, the grieving man just remained as he was, hunched up, head resting into the mattress whilst the rest of his body had rolled into the fetal position. His skin was dead white, making the healing cuts and deep scratches on his face and wrists seem almost black in comparison – it was most likely the larger gashes in his left side, spine and thighs were equally as deep and dark. His eyes were clamped shut as tears rolled down his pale cheeks and his hair was an utter mess. Pity-filled and genuinely concerned, Roxas touched his shoulder timidly then whispered softly, "Hey… it's alright, Dem. We're here."

He hardly expected an answer – after all, ever since Tabby's death, he hadn't said a word, or even acknowledged their presence. However, to Roxas' relief and surprise, Demyx croaked, "It hurts, Roxas. It hurts."

"I know… I know."

"Do you Roxas? Do you really?" the dull glassy teal eyes finally opened, the skin below then red raw from crying. He glared at the boy for a few seconds more, then closed his eyes again, mumbling, "You can't possibly know."

A little hurt by this, but knowing he really shouldn't scold the guy, Roxas sighed heavily and gave a weak smile of bitter sadness. "No, you're right. I don't. I probably never will. But… you can't go on like this…"

"Why? No one's gonna care… at least not like she did…" Demyx trailed off wistfully. "She was… everything. She opened my eyes to life. I hadn't lived before meeting her… it was like she was god-sent… she filled everything around her with so… much… life… Just… oh why couldn't it have been me!?" He suddenly whipped out and punched his pillow weakly before crumbling and sobbing again. Roxas leant over him and hugged him tightly.

"Don't say things like that. We very nearly lost you today. If it had been you instead, Tabby wouldn't have stood a chance against those heartless. We would have lost both of you."

"Look at me Roxas: I'm useless. I'm just a bleeding coward. Couldn't even protect her. I was too scared to even admit openly that she was my angel… and now I'll never get the chance. I… I never told her those three words that I so desperately wanted to say… I was just so damn scared…"

"You fended off an army of heartless for her. Alone," Roxas insisted quietly. "I bet she was watching you from up there. I bet she was smiling and saying, 'That's my Demyx down there'. She would have been so proud of you. Don't ever say you're worthless, because you're not. You're a very brave and loyal guy. Without you, life just wouldn't be the same."

Demyx just shook his head and buried his face back into the mattress, shaking in silent sobs. Seeing all the fight had deserted him, Roxas quietly moved until he was by Demyx's side, then hugged him tightly, staying that way until he'd cried himself to sleep.

__________________________________________________________

The next morning, a slight fog had rolled in and the birds in the area had obviously learnt to keep their chattering at a volume that would not result in their nests exploding on a whim.

Axel's eyes fluttered open lazily and he moaned a little as he shifted a little under the sheets, rolling over and pulling them further over him. He really didn't want to get up just yet.

"Roxas…. Go get me a coffee….." he mumbled from under the covers. He got neither a reply nor a kick in the head, which surprised him. Finally poking his head out from under the covers, he glanced over sleepily to Roxas' bed. It was empty. Maybe he was already up… but he couldn't hear anything from outside the bedroom.

He rolled out of bed (landing painfully on the floor) picked himself up and got changed, making a mental note that at least Demyx was still in his bed, judging by the large lump huddled under the blankets. Sighing, Axel strode over to wake him up and try to get him to communicate when he realised Demyx wasn't alone.

"Well, if that isn't the most adorable thing I've ever woken up to," he commented in overwhelmed surprise and amusement as he sat down cross-legged at the foot of Demyx's bed, chin on his hands as he gazed fondly at the other two, who were curled up together sleeping, Roxas clutching at Demyx's shirt like some small child snuggling up to his father, whilst Demyx had one arm cushioning Roxas' head and the other wrapped around his chest, the boy's head tucked firmly under his own.

"Hmmmm… to disturb them or not to disturb them… what to do?" Axel mused with a massive grin on his face. He considered it for a few minutes, contently just watching them sleeping, then decided maybe he'd get himself some breakfast first and wait for them to wake up on their own.

As he'd predicted, he burnt his toast, but happily ate it anyway. He was just laying on the couch picking the charred crumbs out of his teeth with a handy cocktail stick he'd found when he heard movement behind him and looked over to see Roxas leaning on the back of the couch wearily, watching the TV screen Axel had been ignoring.

"You two comfy last night?" Axel remarked with a snort.

"Hey, he needed it… and speaking of Demyx, he's refusing to get out of bed. Says there's no point."

"Well, drag him out of it!" Axel looked at the boy in bewilderment.

"I will, but in case it hasn't occurred to you, I'm considerably smaller than him, and I'm having a hard time forcibly removing him."

"Oh," Axel grimaced sheepishly, getting to his feet and putting his plate down on the table as they both walked back to the bedroom, rolling up their sleeves.

"Demyx, you either get out of that bed yourself, or we're kicking you out of it," he announced upon entering the room.

"Go away," the thing under the covers wailed defiantly.

"Alright, you asked for it."

It took five minutes of protesting, pulling, tugging, wailing and growled assurances that it was for his own good when Demyx was finally peeled away from the bed and was slung over Axel's shoulder yelling loudly and repeatedly banging his fists on Axel's back, demanding to be left alone.

He was only put down when they got back into the lounge area and was forced to sit down on the couch, looking up at the two others who looked down at him, arms folded grumpily, and yet faces worn and worried. He glared at them both in a face that clearly said, 'just leave me alone. I don't want to talk'. Either they ignored the look, or they misinterpreted it, because Axel sighed then mumbled, "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Demyx just looked away moodily. They'd never understand. No one would.

To his slight surprise though, he felt a hand clasp his face under his chin and force him to look back in their direction. Roxas' face came into view, looking pleading.

"You've got to talk about it. It's better for everyone if you do. You can't keep bottled up forever, you know that."

Something about the way Roxas was talking and the way his stunning sapphire eyes pierced his own with such desperation made Demyx close his eyes and manage a tiny, "Please… don't make me."

"We aren't going to make you, but we'll sure as hell try to get Demyx back."

The dirty blond looked up at Axel strangely then said, "I'm right here."

"No, you're not Demyx. You're something born out of him that has changed him into something so empty and lifeless. Now hand over our little brother, you lousy imitation. Please?"

"Like it or not, Axel, this is me… and it's not going to change for a very long time."

"And what would Tabby have to say about that?"

The sentence cut into him like a sheet of ice straight through his chest. Aghast, he snapped his gaze up at Axel, mouth moving as if he was about to try and say something, but nothing came. He was shaking, though whether it was out of rage or shame he couldn't tell. His eyes narrowed and he felt his face flaring into red.

"Don't you dare use her like that," he hissed, absolutely fuming yet his eyes watering as he realised Axel had a highly valid point. "Don't you _fucking_ dare."

Realising Axel may have crossed the line, Roxas forced Demyx's face back towards him and said quietly, "You probably don't care about us anymore – after meeting Tabby, we're probably nothing in comparison… but please, we still care about you. So don't push us away Demyx. We need you. And despite what you think, you need us."

Demyx lowered his eyes, unable to look the boy in the face, then said glumly, "Why did it have to be her?"

Seeing the 'softly-softly' approach was working a lot better than the 'stop-being-so-stupid' one, Axel crouched down so he could look up at Demyx's face and said, "We don't know Demyx. I wish we did, but we don't. Hell, it could have been chance, it could just be Sod's law. But it happened, and no matter how badly you or anyone else may want her back, the horrible truth is she's gone."

"She's not gone," Demyx shook his head. "She's still here. She's everywhere. I see her everywhere, and when I close my eyes, I see her even clearer. I can… I can feel her breath… and… I hear her voice. She… she just keeps coming back… but when I reach out for her…" he trailed off dreamily, a pained expression in his wide eyes as he slowly reached up into open space with a limp hand, out-stretched as if he were holding something so fragile, he was scared a simple touch would shatter it and make it go away forever.

Unsure what to do now he seemed to be drifting away from them, Axel and Roxas shared a concerned look, then Roxas subtly cleared his throat. The noise made Demyx's eyes shut and hitch his breath, freezing as if it had physically touched him. Then he opened his eyes again and let his hand fall by his side like a dead weight, head slumping down miserably.

"I can't do this."

"Hey, don't give up on us yet," Axel threw him a warm smile as he and Roxas sat either side of him on the couch, taking a hand each. "Look at yourself – what happened to you, eh?"

"I did the stupidest thing possible… I fell in love," Demyx surmised blankly, before looking to his right at Axel, face drawn and subdued. "If we don't have hearts, then why does it hurt so bad?"

"Hey, that's something you have to take up with Vexen, I haven't a clue," the pyro replied gently, squeezing his hand in comfort. "But you know what I think? I think you have a heart, Dem. No matter what those nerds say."

"Ptt… you're just saying that…"

"No, he's not," Roxas shook his head, offering a wry smile. "Ever since you met Tabby, you've proved them wrong… Demyx… you fell in love. Even people with hearts struggle to manage that sometimes. In a matter of days, you met the girl of your dreams and were practically lovers within hardly any time at all. She even wanted to share a paopu. A friggin' paopu, Demyx! That is a sign of love if there ever was one…"

"Yeah well, if you guys are trying to cheer me up, you're failing completely," Demyx bought his knees up and hugged them to his chest, resting his head on them miserably. "All you're doing is reminding me of what I've lost…"

Axel and Roxas swallowed hard and looked away anxiously. They hadn't been trying to do that, that's for sure. However, Demyx managed the tiniest of smiles and sniffed, "But thanks anyway guys…" as he rubbed an eye trying to casually dismiss a tear that was starting to form. "I know it's probably difficult for you two as well, having to put up with my moping, and… I'm sorry…"

"Don't you dare apologise," Axel said firmly, poked Demyx's head as the youth tried burying it into his knees. "Hell, you're taking it better than some people might have… I've known people to refuse to talk, refuse to sleep, just try and off themselves at every chance they have after losing someone. You're being perfectly sensible acting like you are, and even if you were tearing yourself up, we'd still understand."

"Axel's right. It's not your fault, and we're here for you no matter what, okay?"

"You guys…" Demyx gave a half-sob, half-laugh, still with his head buried.

"Now come on… eat something then we'll let you be to do as you wish," Axel smirked, getting to his feet and pulling Demyx with him.

"Axel, neither of us can cook…" Roxas pointed out quietly.

"That is a good point… but it doesn't mean I won't trrrrrry!" Axel cackled, approaching the stove as if he were a hungry vulture sneaking up on a fresh carcass. The sight was so hilarious, Roxas cracked up laughing, and even Demyx forced a brief distracted chuckle, before falling silent and shuffling over to the table, slumping down at a chair and fiddling with his fingers. Sat by the window, the light illuminated his pale face and the sore marks under his eyes. Seeing how tired he looked, Roxas bit his lip, gave one last glance at Axel, then once satisfied Axel was happily burning breakfast, strode over and sat next to the Nocturne.

"It's going to take time," Demyx mumbled unblinkingly with a shaky breath, as if guessing what Roxas was going to say. The boy nodded in understanding and said nothing, just remaining seated next to the grieving man to let him know there was always a shoulder to cry on should he need it. But Demyx resisted breaking down and waited patiently until Axel came over and presented him with a plate of slightly over-done toast with some bacon and eggs.

He wasn't allowed to leave the table until he'd eaten every last crumb, and then after a long group hug, they finally let him be.

The first thing he wanted to do was go somewhere private. It wasn't that he disliked the attention of the other two – far from it, he was forever grateful for their support - but he still needed some alone time to think at his own pace without them clinging to him like paper clips to a magnet. After much thought, he ended up on the sloping roof of the lodge, head tilted back, letting the chilly wind blow over him, numbing him temporarily, taking deep breaths. As the day wore on, he'd bought out his sitar and begun to play. Inside the lodge as they went about their business, the other two could hear his music echoing out across the valley – so pitiful, so tortured, so lost, so lonely, so… empty. And yet, every so often, barely noticeable amidst the grief and the suffering and yet there on a sub-conscious level, there was a few brief bars that oozed gratitude and reassured them both he was still willing to keep going without her as long as they stayed close at heart.

He carried on playing long into the afternoon and for half the night before he dismissed his instrument and lay with his back against the roof. He looked at his hands. They were bleeding from playing for so long, and so emotionally. He hardly cared though and simply sighed as he lowered them and observed the sky.

Pisces shone down on him, the two outlines splitting away from each other into a blanket of night, the stars little moth-eaten holes that allowed a sneaky peek into the worlds beyond. As he kept gazing up at his zodiac constellation, he noted that the shining dots that made it up could also be used in the outline of a giant heart across the sky. And, oh how the gods must have been laughing at him, a line of lesser stars split it down the middle, separating the two fish from each other cruelly as they swam about the great dark sky. One side of the constellation seemed so much dimmer tonight, and even as he watched, a slow moving cloud drifted over it, hiding it from view and leaving just one fish aimlessly wandering the Night Sea, wondering where oh where his beloved mate had gone.

Realising he was crying, he forced himself to look away and wiping the tears off his cheeks, he slowly made his way off the roof, landing heavily in a patch of fallen leaves.

_Just like that patch of leaves me and Tabby played in before she was taken from me._

Shaking himself away from the memory, he pulled his jacket further around him.

_This was the jacket I used to keep her warm when we spent the night together._

Burying his nose into it and taking in the scent of her perfume that clung to it, he shivered longingly as he walked into the lodge. Roxas was watching some Shakespearian play on TV, judging by all the 'thee's and 'thou's Demyx could make out. He heard the name 'Benvolio' and from his knowledge of Shakespeare, gathered it was Romeo and Juliet.

_Axel had called me and Tabby Romeo and Juliet before we left…….. what was the last thing in that play again? 'Never was there a tale of more woe, than that of Juliet and her dear Romeo'…_

"Hey…" Roxas broke his spiralling thoughts. "You doing alright?"

"Huh? Oh… oh yeah… yeah I'm fine…" Demyx shrugged, still with the bottom half of his face buried in his jacket. Roxas gave him a doubtful look. "You sure?"

"I… I think I'll just go to bed… g'night…"

"Good night… see you tomorrow…" the boy looked reluctant to let him go but returned his attention to the TV.

Making his way towards the bedroom, Demyx bumped into Axel on his way out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth.

"Oh sorry, pal… didn't see you there… how you doing?"

"I'm okay… the bruising doesn't hurt too bad now… my side still hurts though…" Demyx sighed, finally removing the jacket from his mouth and nose and shivering in discomfort.

"I wasn't on about those wounds…" Axel remarked sadly. "I was asking if you were alright."

"Oh. Yes. I'm fine."

Knowing full-well he wasn't being truthful, Axel steered him gently into the bedroom with a comforting hand and sat him down on his bed before sitting next to him and ruffling his hair.

"You're being so strong right now. I am so damn proud of you…" he murmured kindly before giving him a quick hug then getting back up and going to sit with Roxas in the lounge.

_Proud… they keep telling me that. Like they just kept telling me that Tabby would have been so proud of me… _

Left sitting miserably on his bed, Demyx took off his jacket finally, then held it in his hands, looking at it as if it was the most precious object in the universe. Ever so softly, he bought it up to his face and inhaled the sweet perfume again, savouring the taste and smell.

He'd give anything. Anything. He would gladly sacrifice his voice… his hearing… his music… anything that ever mattered to him just to see her again. To be able to touch her. To hear her voice. To remind himself of how magical it felt when they were together. To lay under a canopy of stars and just talk idly for hours about things that before seemed so dull and pointless, and yet when he was with her, they were the most important things in the world. To taste her lips again. To just hold her so she'd never leave him ever again.

It was five minutes of thinking like this when he realised he had curled up on top of his sheets, wrapped in his jacket crying. Opening his eyes and sniffing mournfully, he found himself looking up into the concerned eyes of Axel.

"Shhhhhhh… don't worry… I'm right here…" the taller male had no problem lifting his head into his lap and stroking his hair in comfort. "Are you alright?"

Demyx just sniffed again then managed a blunt, "What do you think?"

"Okay, stupid question… sorry… I'm just worried ab- holy cow, is that blood?" Axel suddenly asked with a highly surprised voice, before Demyx felt himself being hauled into a sitting position and his wrists being grabbed as Axel saw the cuts and scratches in his hands. "Christ, what the hell did you think you were playing at, letting your hands get so cut up?! You've already lost too much blood to be so careless!"

And without waiting for an explanation or argument, Axel hauled him to his feet and dragged him to the bathroom, filling the sink with warm water and forcing Demyx's hands into it. The younger man winced and whimpered as his cuts stung briefly, blood drifting into the liquid like smoke in a chilly morning air.

"I've had worse…" he mumbled bitterly.

"I know, but I don't care," Axel snarled back, striding over and opening the cupboard in the corner next to the shower, withdrawing a reel of medical tape and bringing it back over to the sink. He then lifted one of Demyx's hands out of the water and using a towel, dabbed the sore areas until they were dry, apologising each time he heard a whimper of pain. He repeated the procedure with the next hand, then began tearing off small bits of the tape and wrapping them over the open wounds, babbling, "Can't let your fingers get all hurt can we? Else we'd never hear that wonderful music of yours anymore, would we? And that won't do. It just won't. You hear me?"

"Axel, you don't have to do this…"

"Of course I do. Now promise me you'll look after yourself better in the future…"

"Ax-"

"Promise?"

Demyx gave him a long weary look, then sighed and managed a weak forced smile.

"I promise…"

"Pinky promise?"

"Oh for… fine! Pinky promise that I'll look after myself better!" Demyx almost managed to laugh, but obliged the smirking red head and they linked little fingers. Pleased the promise was sealed, Axel patted him on the back then said, "Well, come on… back to bed with you… I'll bring Roxas in shortly – poor kid dozed off a while ago and is starting to shiver."

"What about you?"

"Me? Oh I'm a big boy now, I don't have a bedtime," Axel stuck out his tongue.

"Then what the hell am I? I'm not that much younger…"

"You, my dear DumDums, need all the rest and relaxation you can get…"

Demyx felt his brief content slipping and he mumbled, "I can't help it… just thinking about trying to get by without her… it's… it's just…"

"Say no more…" Axel sat him down, then busied himself in the chest of drawers next to the bed. "Here, get out of those dirty old clothes – you've been wearing them for three days straight and you even slept in them last night…" He threw a set of pyjamas at him, which he caught haphazardly. He bit his lip and cast his eyes downwards – these clothes were the ones he'd worn when he and Tabby had been at their happiest. He didn't want to take them off and replace them with scentless, dull and meaningless ones.

"What's the matter? Forgot how to dress yourself?" Axel's sarcastic snort broke his thoughts. He simply shook his head and put the pyjamas down next to him, picking up the jacket again and laying down, throwing over him. Seconds later, he felt it being tugged away and with a cry he grasped for it – it was too precious to be taken away. His flailing hands met not the fleecy material, but instead fumbled into Axel's own and he felt himself being rolled onto his back and forced to look up at Axel's frowning face.

"Hey… this is getting seriously old, little bro…"

"Go away…" Demyx sighed simply. "I don't feel well."

"You really think I'll leave you alone after you say that? You obviously don't know me as well as I thought you did," the Flurry tutted, sitting down next to him and putting hand to his forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever, so I guess you don't have what Roxas had… but you're very pale… in fact, I think I can safely say your face is a lovely shade of grey…"

Demyx groaned and closed his eyes, head rolling to one side as he curled up.

"Leave me alone… I'm ill. If you must, go get me some aspirin…"

"Yes, you are ill. But aspirin can't cure heartbreak…"

"Maybe not, but it can fucking ease the pain…"

Axel shook his head sadly, though he knew Demyx wouldn't see it what with his eyes closed.

"I have no idea what is going on in your head right now. All I know is that you're suffering terribly. I wish I could help, but I just can't…" he said after a long pause. Demyx sighed again – a habit that was becoming almost second nature to him now – then opened his eyes again and looked back up at Axel, mumbling, "Then why are you still trying?"

"Because I'm worried about you. Because I can't stand to sit here and watch you slip away. Because I'm a stubborn idiot, I guess."

"I'm leaning more towards the third…"

"Me too. But, hey, it's working. See, I got you to smile. Ah, no use hiding it! I saw that smile and nothing's gonna change that… come oooooon………….. I know you can still smiiiiile……. Cooooome ooooon Demmy… smile for me……"

Despite how outrageously patronised he felt, Demyx began to chuckle mournfully as he hid his face in his arms, not wanting to smile as he thought it would insult Tabby's memory, but at the same time desiring a grin so badly. Sensing he'd broken through, Axel grinned too then poked the smaller man in the neck, where he knew one of his more sensitive tickle-spots were. Demyx gave an involuntary 'Eeee!' then tried stifling his laughter again.

"There we go! We have a proper smile now!" Axel laughed with him. Demyx chuckled weakly then said, "Thanks Ax….. I still miss her, but I really needed that."

"Hmmmm… from what Roxas told me, you two were getting serious… is that true?"

Demyx turned insanely bright red but smiled shyly and mumbled, "Might be…"

"Heh, well, lookit you, Mr Ladykiller!"

There was a brief silence, then Axel's face fell instantly, hands over his mouth.

"Shit, that was completely the wrong choice of words, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it was."

"Aw crap, sorry man… god, in some ways that makes all this so much harder on you… I mean… the first girl you… in fact… no. No, let's admit it, you're not a kid anymore, you're a man now. And the first real woman in your life aside from your sister is lost so tragically…"

"Axel…"

"Shit, okay, shutting up now. God why does everything that comes out of my mouth have to suck so much at the worst possible times?"

"No… it's okay…" Demyx sighed heavily, fiddling with his thumbs distractedly. "But… to properly answer your first question… yeah, Roxas was right… if he hadn't walked in on us, me and Tabby may… well…… may have gone further."

Axel grinned a little deviously but patted the guy's shoulder knowingly and mumbled, "Are you angry it… it didn't go further?"

"I… I don't know. I'll never get the chance with Tabby… but… I don't know… maybe I wasn't ready yet to take that big a step… do you ever feel that way?"

"Uh Dem… I don't think I've ever even found someone as obviously 'perfect' as Tabby was to you, but I've kinda wasted myself by being so casual with who I have the 'horizontal mumbo' with… you're still kinda… 'pure' I guess. So, I honestly don't know."

"Yeah can we… like…. not talk about that anymore…? It's kinda weird discussing sex with your big brother…"

"You're telling me. Uh, when my somebody got 'The Talk' from his brother… uh… just…. No."

"Think you had problems? My dad copped out of giving me the Talk and left it to my sister… uh, it's is so weird having a girl tell you about 'manly urges'…"

"'Manly urges' huh? My brother didn't word it so….. delicately. He basically said, 'You see a girl you wanna fuck, go and fuck her.'"

Despite how humiliating Demyx felt this conversation was, he couldn't help bursting out laughing. Satisfied the youth was at least a little bit happier than he had been, Axel slipped off the bed and walked towards the door, pausing by the frame and saying quietly, "You get some rest… okay? And if you need us, don't be afraid to wake us up."

Slowly uncoiling, Demyx lay his head on the pillow, hands clasping weakly at the sheets beneath, his eyes glassy and tear-stained, but a little brighter. "Thank you," he murmured gratefully.

Nodding, Axel closed the door behind him and then returned a few minutes later, Roxas curled up asleep in his arms, one arm hanging limply whilst the other was resting firmly on his stomach, his mouth hanging open a little in slumber.

"Man, since when did I become the babysitter, eh?" Axel remarked lightly, throwing Demyx a weak grin as he pulled back the covers of Roxas' bed then lay the boy down, replacing the covers once the teenager had instinctively snuggled into the sheets.

Demyx simply managed a half-smile, eyes sliding shut ever so slowly as the tiredness of the day suddenly seemed to creep up on him. He mumbled something faintly but Axel had no idea what and by the time he had gone to the doorway, switched the lights off and left the room, the other two were both sleeping deeply.

"Sweet dreams guys…" Axel sighed as he pulled the door to, a tiny fond smile flickering across his face before he left them to it.

____________________________________________

A/N - Wish my brother was as nice to me. :(  
C'mon: you all knew it wasn't going to end well.


	5. Love Should

It was another rather misty day, but the sunshine from two days previous was starting to break through and managed to feebly illuminate the lodge through the trees. It was a little colder than it had been though, and the ground was still rather sodden.

"You like it up there don't you?" Roxas commented, staring up at the roof of the wooden house.

"Hey, at least it's safer than Axel's insistences to stand on the spires of Twilight Town Tower," Demyx shrugged, staring out across the woodlands. Roxas couldn't argue with that and attempted to join him on the roof, scrabbling up a small box and shimmying up the drainpipe, trying to grasp the edge of the roof and failing miserably.

"A little help?"

"Hmmmmm… no."

"Demyx…"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Heh, come here you little monkey," Roxas saw a hand fumbling towards him, inviting him to take it. He did so and felt himself being tugged up sharply onto the sloping surface of the roof. "There…"

"Thanks… wow, okay, I can see why you like it up here."

From the roof, they had a clear view over the tops of the trees and were treated to a sea of leaves and towering rock faces that seemed to stretch on forever, a pair of mountains sat unmovingly dominant on the landscape, their peaks fading into white mist and clouds slowly sailing across the morning horizon. Demyx sighed and nodded as Roxas sat next to him. "Yeah… it's beautiful out here. You missed a really nice sunrise. It made Twilight Town's sunset look stupid in comparison."

"I dunno, that takes some beating…"

"I'd only ever seen one thing more beautiful in my life," Demyx sighed wistfully, eyes downcast suddenly.

"You really loved her, didn't you?"

"Axel says it wasn't possible without a heart. But… I dunno. If I didn't love her, then why does it ache so much? No, not even ache: I feel like it's killing me."

"Like we said: maybe you're not as heartless as you think."

"Well, no pulse generally means no heart…"

"I've been thinking about that," Roxas swung his legs over the edge of the roof thoughtfully. "And, forgive me for sounding rather Vexen-ish, but I think though we lack a cardio heart, I think we do still have at least just a tiny smidgen of an emotional one left. It makes sense when you think about it."

"Not really."

"Well, you can't blame memories for helping us 'sense' things we didn't have strong memories of. Take Axel for example: hasn't he said that his other life was really violent and he was totally abused and arrogant?"

Demyx nodded blankly.

"So…" Roxas carried on. "If that's the case, then how come he's such a softie over us? Huh? How come, even without knowing what these emotions were back when he had a pulse, he is capable of showing compassion and sensitivity?"

There was a long pause of contemplation, then a quiet laugh. "You've got me there, Roxas. You really have."

They sat side by side, watching the sun fully ascend above the clouds and the mist gently clearing away. They could have been easily sat there wordless for up to an hour before they heard a throat clearing below them. Gazing down in unison, they found a pair of deep green eyes surveying them.

"There you are…" Axel muttered. "I've been looking for you two since breakfast."

"Sorry, we've just been watching the sunrise."

"I see."

The two blonds frowned a little: Axel looked positively grave: they'd never seen him so serious before. No snappy remark, no typical 'Axel-esque' sarcasm, no real expression even. He just stared up at them, mouth a thin line and eyes relaxed but focused.

"What's wrong?" Roxas said finally.

"I… I was wondering… if… well, Dem?"

"Yeah-h?"

"Did you... want to go give Tabby one last… goodbye?"

There was a long silence. Then Demyx managed a very quiet and forced, "What do you mean?"

"They're holding her funeral in half an hour. The… the service has probably started but… I didn't know if you wanted to… see her one last time."

Another tense hesitation, then wordlessly Demyx got to his feet and jumped off the roof, landing with almost a stumble on his feet before wheezing, "Please. It'd mean a lot to me."

Axel just nodded and followed him inside to help him prepare.

Unfortunately, in all the kerfuffle to get ready, they temporarily forgot that Roxas had no idea how to get down safely.

________________________________________________

The church graveyard was a small place about one mile from the little town Tabby had called home. It was quite a beautiful setting: nestled on the lush green hillside of a gently sloping valley, a little stream gurgling at the bottom whilst the ornate stone building sat perched on top, staring down at the army of graves. It seemed the whole populace of the tiny town had gathered to see their young doctor off – the priest's billowing white cloak looking incredibly out of place amongst the party of black. Above them, clouds gathered and yet no rain fell. The youth stood observing the ceremony some twenty feet away saw to that. He wouldn't let it rain on her today. She deserved the best send off possible.

Several metres behind him, Axel and Roxas watched solemnly. They felt getting any closer would be an interference to Demyx's final chance to say goodbye. They were also not dressed appropriately for such a ceremony – they had leant all the black clothing (aside from their cloaks) they had to Demyx, who had none of his own. It wasn't the smartest of outfits, but at least the black formal jacket that seemed too big for him covered up the scruffy black shirt and trousers.

"… ashes to ashes, dust to dust…"

No one moved as everyone watched the soil being sprinkled softly atop the coffin lid. Someone beside the grave began to weep, and the figure beside them gently patted their shoulder, offering a white handkerchief to stem the flow of misery. A few minutes more, then the group parted ways, some crying, others shaking their heads in utter loss, whilst others simply crossed themselves and made their way back down the hill.

And still, Demyx watched: not moving an inch, eyes locked loyally as he watched two gravediggers gently piling on shovel-fuls of soft earth.

"You… you have some nerve!" an angry voice suddenly blurted from his left. He snapped his gaze to look what the disturbance was when he found himself being held by the throat. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Axel and Roxas start to come over to help him, but before they had even gone one metre, another voice barked, "Put him down! Put him down this INSTANT!"

The tall burly man who had lunged for him did as he was told and dropped Demyx, making him choke and stagger to keep upright. An aged woman stormed over and roughly slapped the stranger in the face, looking absolutely livid.

"Beryl how can you defend this murderer! If it wasn't for him and his damned brothers, Tabby would still be alive!"

"If it wasn't for him and his brothers, my daughter's corpse wouldn't have had a decent burial and would have been left to rot up Mount Putnuh!" the woman snarled back. The man simply glowered at her but backed off and stormed away angrily. Axel and Roxas jogged over, a little flustered.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… yeah just a little shaken…"

The woman who had intervened sighed sadly and said, "I apologise. Tabby was dearly loved. We're a close community – if someone gets hurt, we all do. I'm afraid Tabby's death has made you three rather unwelcome visitors to our town. But I know my daughter wouldn't want that…"

She suddenly broke off coughing and the three boys gasped in unison as they saw flecks of blood stain her wrist. She held up a hand to stop their gabbles of concern though and she simply chuckled, "It's the cancer… inoperable I'm afraid. I'm just glad Tabby won't have to see me suffer anymore. It always made her incredibly unhappy… in fact, it's thanks to you, young man, she even managed to smile these last few days…" she smiled kindly at Demyx, who swallowed hard and turned his gaze downwards.

"I'm so sorry… I tried to save her… I really did… I would do anything… anything to change what happened. But… I guess I wasn't strong enough."

"Shhhh, shhh… it's alright, sweetheart…" the woman took his shoulder as he tried hiding his tears. She too was starting to cry again.

"No mother should ever have to see their child buried before them…" he carried on miserably. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save her."

"Oh shhh, pet. Don't pretend it's me you're concerned for. I know full well you must be torn apart by this. Just know… with Tabby gone, you're practically the closest thing to a child I have left. You are always welcome at my house… Son."

He nodded tearfully, then allowed her to hug him, her frail, dying body giving him something to keep himself standing with. He just wanted to curl up and die, he really did. As she pulled away, she gave a forced, toothless grin and practically whispered (as if it was juicy gossip) "Do you know what my daughter said before she went to find you boys? Said she had to go rescue her knight in shining armour."

Demyx managed a tiny almost inaudible burst of sad laughter, then sighed heavily. Tabby's mother stared at him for a while, pity etched on her face, before she rummaged in the pocket of her cardigan and withdrew something, placing it firmly into his shaking hands.

"Take it," she smiled weakly. "Tabby would have wanted you to have it. It's not much, but… she always swore she'd pass it on to her true love, just like my husband passed it on to me when he proposed, his mother giving it to him before then, and so on…"

And without another word, the terminally ill woman hobbled away, face hidden as she raised a hand to her eyes, wiping away silent tears.

Left alone in the graveyard, the three boys watched her leave… well, two of them did. Demyx just stared at his fist, slowly opening it to reveal what he'd just been given.

It was a simple gold chain and tiny key with a locket: a little rusted on the hinge, but he managed to open it with such care it barely made a noise. As he prised it open, a tiny little tune began to play: he instantly recognised it as the Fur Elise. The slow, mournful notes echoed about the graveyard, the open locket spread wide. A tiny piece of paper sat folded neatly into quarters inside.

Unfolding it, he realised it was a handwritten poem.

_When the black of dusk falls over you,_

_I'll be the eyes that guide you through._

_When rain falls hard and you feel drowned,_

_I'll bring you back to solid ground._

_When all is lost and you feel alone,_

_Just know my hold will be your home._

_And when you have no soul for art,_

_Just know this muse will share her heart._

_This key you hold is yours to keep,_

_So you'll dream of me in restful sleep._

_And should I not be there for you,_

_Just know our love will still be true._

_Now, forever, endlessly._

_I'll love you, so please love me._

And underneath it, blotted with red gel pen, was a little heart with his name written inside it.

-----------------------------

_The firelight burnt crisply in the chilling night air, crackling and sizzling, spilling embers about the gathered sleepers and enveloping them in calming warmth._

_From the other side of the clearing, she watched him sleep: his usually energetic and dazzling eyes sealed together in content rest; his breaths sounding quiet and yet so comfortable, almost like sighs of bliss; his skin illuminated by the gentle light of the flames; his hair tussled and swept partially over his weary but still so beautiful face._

_For several minutes, she had forgotten her fear of the dark and simply lay there, smiling as she watched him rest, wondering if he was dreaming, and if he was, who of._

_Absent-mindedly, she fingered the gold locket she always kept around her neck, hidden to all in the outside world: the little golden heart resting over her own internal one. The one she'd show only to the 'one'._

_She bit her lip, grip suddenly tight around it, eyes focused more seriously on him: lying there, so unaware. So at peace. Just so… radiant in his dream world._

_Another few minutes passed, though they felt like hours. And still she couldn't keep her eyes off him. Without even consciously acknowledging she was doing so, she opened the locket, listening to the delicate melody twinkling from it's mechanics. He smiled wider in his sleep and clenched his sleeping bag tightly at the sound, lips moving soundlessly as his sleeping mind recognised the tune. The sight made her give a fond sigh, eyes shining in the firelight. She quietly retrieved a little notebook from her nearby bag along with a pen, then began to write._

_At least half an hour passed before she tore out the page, neatly folded the piece of paper until it fit inside the locket then shut it again, mentally imagining the scene when she'd finally hand it over to him… to see his face when he read it in front of her. To see his reply. To wonder exactly what would happen next._

_But she had to wait. Had to wait until the moment was perfect._

_She closed her eyes peacefully, hands over her chest as she held the precious locket._

_She lay like that for a long time, before opening her eyes and finding the fire had almost burnt out completely. Realising the darkness was fast-descending, she glanced over fearfully to him._

_He was still at peace, but seemed a tiny bit troubled. His arm was out-stretched in her direction, as if sensing she was afraid. As if wanting to reach out and tell her everything would be alright._

_She took a deep, disturbed breath then slid out of her sleeping bag, nervously scurrying over to his and gently kneeling beside him, holding his hand._

_After a couple of prods, his flawless bright eyes flew open and his face (what she could see of it) blossomed into a loving but all the same slightly worried smile at the sight of her._

_"Mnnnnuh? Oh… uh… wass wrong?" he asked sleepily._

_"… It's dark and I'm scared…" Even saying it, she could feel her face flaring up in embarrassment. He gazed at her slightly, his post-sleeping mindset hampering his understanding, but soon he smiled wider, giving her a sympathetic 'aww' and just seemed to know exactly what she wanted. He lifted his other arm as an invitation for her to lay beside him, closer to the lingering flames, in his embrace so she'd not get lost in the clawing darkness. She felt like weeping with relief and before she knew it, there they were: side-by-side, foreheads together so they could gaze into each other's eyes. His arms were tightly wrapped around her, pulling her so close that only the curvature of their noses kept them from being entirely connected._

_"Better?" he asked kindly. She closed her eyes in a long blink, relaxing tremendously now she could feel his breath against her face._

_"Mmm hmmm…"_

_"Good." His voice was so soft, so angelic. "Sweet dreams."_

_"Hee hee, you too."_

_And nothing more was said. He leant closer and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before letting her snuggle closer to him and pull the covers over them both. They were both asleep within moments, lulled away by the soothing rhythm of the other's breathing and the gentle tracing of their fingers around their backs._

_----------------------------------------------------------_

The chapel was deserted: all the mourners had either left the site completely or had chosen to wander around outside to get some air. The main hall wasn't big when compared to other buildings of it's sort, but it was still quite a size. He wandered between the pews, almost as if in a trance. He lingered by one, his fingers stroking it with the lightest of touches, before he sighed and looked over to the bundles of flowers and candles that had been placed by one section of the wall near the organ.

Hanging just above the messages of love and grief, the wishes for a better life and good luck, was her: radiant, smiling, her soft charcoal hair spiralling just below her ears, a smile forever fixed upon her tanned, smooth skin. If pictures had scents, Demyx was certain the whole room would be awash with lavender. It was, after all, her favourite scent. It had slowly become his too, over the past few days.

Without even knowing what he was doing, he found himself at the foot of the picture, stood numbly before the flowers, the home-made cards and the constant reminders that this was real.

Wordlessly, he wiped a hand over an eye that threatened to spill it's misery, and respectfully took up an unlit candle from beside him. He kissed it, then lit it using another candle. Then, with slow reverence, he placed it with the others. Watched it burn. Watched the wax tumble over the edges. Watched the other candles die as he stood there for maybe half an hour, an hour… did it really matter anymore?

He blinked back another wave of tears, staring up at her picture, silently wishing for any outcome but this. To turn back time. To maybe have even made it so they'd never meet. It'd save all the agony.

Beside him, someone else placed a candle in an empty slot. It was unlit, but the person placed a solitary finger on the wick. It awoke in a sparkling of fire.

Demyx looked to the person and gave a grateful smile before looking back up at his first love's image. Neither of them said a word, but they both knew exactly what the other was thinking. It was only when a third candle was placed into the last empty holder and Demyx felt two different embraces surrounding him that he managed a tearful whisper of thanks.

----------------------------------------------------

"I'm not at all sure this will work… it is not written in the Holy Scriptures that such a ritual is possible…"

"Please… I've read that it's been done. I have to at least try. It probably won't work… but if there's any chance, I'll take it."

"I am still not at all sure about this. You're not even a part of the communion…"

"I'd be willing to become one… for her."

The priest looked at him with sad respect and took him by the shoulders.

"Young man, your loyalty to her is truly touching. However, even if you did join the communion… admit it, you would not be joining through faith, you would be joining for her. I'm afraid unless you showed true devotion to the Lord, such a ceremony to invite you into the fold would be fruitless."

The man's face fell, and he bowed his head in respect.

"I… I understand, Father. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

He turned to go and leave the church but paused when he felt the priest take his shoulder again.

"I never said I wouldn't try it for you," the aging minister smiled, his face wrinkling further.

The youth's eyes lit up in utter gratitude and he kissed the priest's hands in utter respect and thanks. The old man laughed him away and together they walked out of the chapel. The younger of them was noticeably shaking, but seemed to have almost a skip in his step.

They walked throughout the small collection of graves. They walked through the sparkling Autumn sunlight, stopping near the very back of the rows of ominous stones. Two very recent graves lay side by side.

The youth paused by the more recent of the graves, crouching in front of it. He lay down the bouquet he'd been carrying at it's foot, then bowed his head in silent prayer. After a few seconds of quiet respect, he looked up at the grave. It was marked, 'Beryl Faydal – she who was robbed by the mortal afflictions and set free into immortal joy.'

"Sorry for the intrusion," he smiled quietly, bowing his head in respect again. "Just checking up on you and Tabby."

Without another word, he turned his attention to the slightly older grave beside her's.

Suddenly everything was all business.

"I'm ready…"

The priest nodded in understanding and knelt beside him as they both got in front of the other grave. He withdrew a bottle of holy water, an unlit candle and a small pocket-sized volume of the holy book. He began to sing a long, slow, sombre hymn. The youth knelt patiently, held tilted back, eyes closed, hand one hand on his chest, the other on the book the priest held.

After the hymn, the priest lit the candle and placed in by the graveside. Then he placed one hand on the grave, and the other over the young man's eyes. He had doused both hands in the holy water.

"Oh Lord: bless this, your son, who has come here today to request one of Your angels. Oh You, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I, being an agent of Your divine flock, do beseech Thee, reach out upon this lamb, and guide him back to the other lost lambs You did take so kindly into Your kingdom of Heaven. You, child of God, do you take upon you the burden of this responsibility?"

"I do take on the burden."

"And do you swear not to defile the name of the sacred One, in His absolute divinity, nor that of the one who you so request to behold?"

"I do swear."

"Then, my child, I do grant you blessing of our Lord, and may you know that Heaven is with you. By the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit… Amen."

"Amen."

Both men crossed themselves, and the youth opened his eyes, then offered his utmost thanks. The priest nodded, then wordlessly left the gravesite.

The youth himself did not move or make a sound for another minute. Then, he smiled.

"It's been four months," he began softly, addressing the stone slab he knelt before. "It's been hard. I won't deny it has been hard. Sometimes, I wasn't sure I would make it. But I did. You kept me holding on, and now I'm ready again. I still miss you. I miss you terribly. Sometimes it aches so much that I will refuse to talk to anyone. Sometimes I will not leave my room for a week, and someone has to bring me food. But I'm getting there. I really am. Don't feel guilty that it's taking me so long: if it wasn't for you, I'd have never known what love truly was. Heh… or maybe I still don't… but even if it wasn't love… even if it was just a taster of the real thing… Tabby, without you, I'd have never known what a beautiful thing it truly is."

A low whistle hummed about the graves as the afternoon chill set in. Some frail leaves crumbled from the branches and scattered around him.

"The other guys are fine… they don't miss you as much as I do, but that doesn't mean they don't miss you at all. Hell, the other day, Roxas was commenting how he never truly got to thank you for saving his life. So I told him I'd say it for him today… so… heh. 'Roxas says thanks.' There, it's been said. I've got a lot to thank you for too. For one… you're not gonna believe this, but you've got me interested in poetry!" he chuckled, as if the grave had gasped in amazement and praised him for such a thing. "Yeah……… saw one that made me think of you… it's called 'The Haunter' by Thomas Hardy… it's about a girl who died, and follows her lover around, trying to call to him, but he just can't listen, and she says she's happy enough to just be there for him when he thinks of her…" he trailed off.

"You don't follow me… do you Tabby? You are resting up there… aren't you? I couldn't bear it if I found you were unable to rest because of me."

The wind got louder. He sighed and smiled.

"Good… just because I miss you doesn't mean I want you stuck down here forever, unable to talk or be noticed… that'd be awful. Even worse than losing you all over again……… oh… before I forget, god, how could I forget anyway!?"

He laughed as he reached into his bag and very carefully removed a large star-shaped fruit. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"Did you think I'd forgotten? I always keep my promises… though, I'm afraid I couldn't take you there… but it's better than nothing… right?"

He realised he was babbling now, nervous out of his wits. This was it: this would show if the ritual had worked or not. He had no idea how he'd react either way… but… it had to be done. He'd promised. He wouldn't stop trying until the promise was fulfilled, and if that meant taking disappointment along the way, so be it.

With some air of ceremony, he broke the star-fruit in half.

A strange still fell over everything. The birds stopped singing, the trees stopped shedding their leaves. Even the breeze seemed to die.

It was just him in the eerily quiet graveyard. In each hand, he held a half of the paopu – the fruit of destinies. Realising the sheer magnitude of what he was doing, he trembled as he placed one half down on the soil before the grave. He raised his own half, as if giving a toast. His whole arm shook.

"To us…" he whispered, before closing his eyes and sinking his teeth into his half. Warm, sweet juice trickled down his throat. He felt his body swell at the delightful taste, and his body seemed to warm, as if he was being held by someone closely, in a tight loving embrace. He only opened his eyes once he'd finished the very last bite.

The half he'd placed by the grave had gone. All that remained were some crumbs, and a pair of delicate, black-rimmed glasses he instantly recognised.

He felt his eyes flowing with tears of happiness, and he blew a kiss to the grave. The wind picked up again and enveloped him in swirling energy. It had worked.

Thanking anyone who'd listen that Zexion's archives hadn't lied in their temptations of connecting to the spirit world temporarily, he closed his eyes and let the wind wash over him, leaves brushing past his face.

"I love you," he whispered.

______________________________________________

A/N - Heh, weird ending to confuse you guys. Thus enduth the tragedy of Demyx and Tabby.


End file.
